Read more: Local, Crime, Kenson Lima, Hunger Strike, Illegal Immigration, Immigration, Haitian Immigrant, Force Feeding, Judge Hilda Tagle, Brownsville, Cameron County, Rio Grande Valley, Texas, Immigration & Customs Enforcement, Mexico
Kenson Lima mugshot from Florida's Orange County Jail
A Haitian immigrant may have put a face to ongoing rumors about a hunger strike among illegal immigrants at the Port Isabel Detention Center.
Immigration officials filed a federal lawsuit to force feed inmate Kenson Lima.
Court records show the 26-year-old immigrant was rushed to the Valley Baptist Medical Center in Harlingen over the weekend.
U.S. District Court Judge Hilda Tagle in Brownsville sided with immigration officials and ordered that Lima be given medical care and fed intravenously to save his life.
Lima is now back at the immigration center infirmary but records show he started his hunger strike on June 23rd.
The Haitian immigrant collapsed a few days later while taking a shower at the Bayview-area facility.
A motive for the hunger strike is not listed but immigration officials said in court records that he refused food, water and medical attention.
Court records show doctors determined Lima does not suffer from any mental illness but during one incident, Lima refused to even let doctors take his pulse or take blood samples.
Immigration officials reacted by asking the Judge Tagle to intervene and give him the authority to save his life even if it was against his will.
Action 4 news looked into the Haitian immigrant's background and learned arrived in the United States legally in 2003.
But Lima was ordered for deportation after being arrested for domestic violence case in Florida.
The Haitian immigrant is fighting the deportation and has a scheduled hearing on the case on Monday.
Action 4 News has received numerous calls from relatives of inmates at the immigration facility.
They are concerned about the hunger strike and an alleged outbreak of swine flu at the Port Isabel facility.
Activists also took to the streets in McAllen on Wednesday to draw attention to the issue.
Action 4 News put in a call to U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials but they said they cannot comment on the case.
Lima’s attorney Jodie Goodwin told Action 4 News that cannot comment on the case until after a hearing before Judge Tagle on Monday afternoon.
Click here for a PDF copy of the force-feeding lawsuit
