Hundreds Refuse Food in Growing Call Against Deportations

Hundreds of hunger striking detainees at an immigration detention center in Washington state continued their third day of protest Monday despite reportedharassment by prison officials.

According to U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials, 330 people being held at the Northwest Detention Center refused food Sunday and 750 wouldn’t eat on Saturday in a protest against condictions at the facility and “unrelenting” deportations across the country. However, immigration rights advocate Maru Mora Villalpando, founder of Latino Advocacy, told Al Jazeera that the number of participants numbered 1,200 people—twice the ICE estimate.

Over the weekend, in an action believed to be retaliation against those leading the protest, attorneys representing detainees said that a group of more than 20 hunger strikers were held under “lockdown” in a small room without bathroom breaks, AP reports.