10/07/2026
Project South’s Countering State Repression team is following developments at the Folkston ICE Processing Center in Folkston, Georgia, where dozens of detained immigrants have launched a mass hunger strike protesting prolonged detention, human rights violations, and deteriorating conditions inside the facility.
The Folkston detention center is a former state prison operated by GEO Group under contract with ICE. One of the nation’s largest private prison operators, GEO Group has faced widespread allegations, lawsuits, investigations, and legal challenges concerning human rights abuses, unsafe conditions, inadequate medical care, and constitutional violations across the facilities it operates.
At Folkston, this week detained immigrants launched a hunger strike to protest prolonged and arbitrary detention, systemic abuse, and inhumane conditions. They also released an open letter calling for greater public attention and pressure on ICE for their release, along with a comprehensive 9-page report documenting conditions and violations inside the detention center, based on their firsthand accounts and experiences.
The hunger strikers are protesting:
▪Extended, arbitrary detentions lasting up to two to three years without resolution.
▪Severe medical and dental neglect, including untreated infections.
▪Substandard living conditions, including spoiled food, cramped quarters, lack of access to fresh air/sunlight, and black mold.
▪Hostile behavior and xenophobic treatment from correctional officers managed by the GEO Group.
“We are the faces of this country’s broken immigration system. We are the victims of ICE’s political agenda to detain and deport as many as possible no matter who, no matter what.”
— Idris Makhmudov, detained for 27 months
“One might say we have become political prisoners in the United States, simply because we are immigrants.”
— Mujtaba Qeyami, detained for 20 months
The hunger strikers are demanding:
▪Immediate release from detention into the United States and reunification with their loved ones
▪Protection from retaliation, re-detention, and deportation
▪Immediate intervention and oversight from federal authorities
Project South stands in solidarity with the hunger strikers, supports their demands, and joins the call to shut down the Folkston ICE Processing Center. Hunger strikes have long been an important organizing strategy to expose violations and contend with the horrific conditions of all forms of incarceration and imprisonment.
The immigrants detained inside Folkston have taken tremendous risks to document and expose the conditions they are being forced to endure.
We are also beginning to hear reports that some immigrants detained at Folkston are being held in solitary confinement and that some families are losing contact with their loved ones or have been unable to reach them. We call for the immediate restoration of communication access and the release of all people from solitary confinement.
We condemn any retaliation against hunger strikers, organizers, or others speaking out about conditions inside the facility.
No one should face isolation, intimidation, or other punitive measures for organizing or protesting their conditions. People inside must be able to remain in contact with their families, attorneys, and advocates.
RESOURCES:
▪Watch the video from detained immigrants: bit.ly/47ceYuS
▪Read their open letter: bit.ly/4dTMN7G
▪Read their report documenting violations and the conditions at Folkston: bit.ly/4yxRNap
▪Follow and support the Campaign! Shut Down Folkston ICE Facility
