Judge allows ICE to force-feed Iranian asylum seeker on hunger strike

Source: USA Today

Updated June 26, 2025, 12:53 p.m. ET


A federal judge granted a request allowing immigration officials to force-feed an Iranian asylum seeker on hunger strike while in detention in Arizona.

Mehrad Asadi Eidivand, who was living in the U.S. on a work permit, was arrested outside his Phoenix home in May and taken to a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Florence, Arizona. In protest of his detainment, the avid bodybuilder went on an initial hunger strike that left him diagnosed with acute kidney injury, court records say.

Asadi Eidivand soon began a second hunger strike, leading officials on Monday to ask a federal judge's permission to monitor his health, administer intravenous fluids and medicines, and insert a feeding tube through his nose without consent. U.S. District Judge Steven Logan granted the request the same day, writing Asadi Eidivand was at risk of organ failure.

His attorney, Rebecca Cheaves, decried the government's request and the continued detainment of Asadi Eidivand as an "abuse of authority." She said he is being wrongfully detained and pledged to fight his detention in court. She has also come out against the recent arrests of Asadi Eidivand's brother and sister-in-law, whom she believes were targeted for helping in their relative's case.

Read more: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2025/06/26/ice-force-feed-iran-mehrad-asadi-eidivand/84349361007/