'Slavery wages' prompt hunger strike at ICE detention facilities

“Until I drop.” That’s how long 22-year-old Cruz Martinez says he is committed to carrying out his hunger strike against the conditions at immigration detention centres in the United States.

Martinez is one of about 45 detained people participating in a hunger strike unfolding at two facilities run by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in California: the Mesa Verde ICE Processing Center and the Golden State Annex. Both are operated by the private prison and contracting company GEO Group.

It has been nearly two weeks since Martinez last ate, a fact the sharp pangs in his stomach remind him of constantly.

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