Several people, including 30-year-old Makham Singh from India, who were detained for alleged immigration violations at the high-security Wackenhut prison in Springfield Gardens, Queens, have gone on a hunger strike demanding they be treated humanely and their cases be reviewed, the New York Daily News reported. They have also asked that all non-criminal prisoners be released so they can be reunited with their families.

Singh and several of the others detained are married to U.S. citizens and have American children. Yet the government has released no information about their status or what their future might be, the report said. “We need people to know about our situation,” Singh was quoted as saying. “We must be heard, and we will starve if we have to.” Singh, who has been in the prison for the past 6 months, has a wife and two children who are American citizens.

–– By Vasantha Arora