To Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the death of Luis Sandoval on Oct. 23, 2026 was an administrative event, summarized in a cold press release: “Criminal alien from El Salvador dies in ICE custody.” To the men inside the Folkston Processing Center, it was a tragedy in the middle of a crisis they had been protesting for weeks.
The facility, owned and operated by the private company GEO Group, is now nearly four weeks into a hunger strike launched on Oct. 6. According to campaign organizers, the number of people on strike is around 500. Nilson Barohana, who survived his own long-term ICE detention, serves as an organizer for the Shut Down Folkston ICE Processing Center Campaign, acting as a bridge between the men protesting inside and the world outside.
During his own detention at the Irwin and Stewart facilities from 2019–2020, Barohana organized a hunger strike among fellow detainees. Though he was never held at Folkston, Barohana knows what drives people in custody to use their own bodies as a last resort.
“It’s the most humble way of protest,” said Barohana, “using your voice without harming anybody.”
He has also seen resistance force change. In May 2021, a cascade of whistleblower disclosures and sustained detainee resistance forced federal authorities to terminate the ICE contract at Irwin County. That shutdown provides proof that private detention contracts aren’t permanent, a vital precedent for Folkston today, even as the Trump administration’s recent reopening of Irwin underscores the fragile nature of policy wins.
For the men inside Folkston, that past victory remains a source of hope. Barohana encourages the detainees during his in-person visits, offering his own life experience as proof that resistance can bear fruit — that freedom is possible. More than an organizer, he is a listening ear and a trusted friend.
Sometimes language fails him, he said. Sitting in silence with the men, he apologizes for his inability to articulate any comfort. They tell him the shared quiet carries more weight than words.
He lives between two worlds, inside and out, connecting those who are detained with a community waiting for them. It is heavy work. Long after he leaves the facility, his phone receives nonstop notifications from family members of those in custody.
Despite their circumstances, Barohana recognizes a steady resolve in the men inside. “They organized the whole thing,” he said, referring to their hunger strike. “I was amazed.”
Their organizing has drawn scrutiny toward the facility from politicians and the public. On Oct. 20, Sens. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock sent a letter to Homeland Security executives and David Donahue, CEO of GEO Group, demanding an investigation into conditions at Folkston. They requested a response and full disclosure by Nov. 3. Three days later, Sandoval died in custody. He was 48 and had been detained for 15 days according to ICE. GEO Group and ICE did not respond to requests for comment prior to publication.
The push for accountability began inside. Before the hunger strike, 45 men drafted a letter to the public detailing medical neglect, collective punishment, poor food and prolonged stays. Published by the Shut Down Folkston Campaign just days before the hunger strike began, the letter closes with a quiet, desperate summary of their plight:
“We have already lost too much time here. We hope someone will hear our voices.”
The post Former ICE detainee spreads the message of Folkston’s hunger strike appeared first on SaportaReport.
