Overview
- ICE informed members of Congress that Bulgarian national Nenko Stanev Gantchev, 56, died Monday at the North Lake Processing Center, with the cause under investigation and suspected to be natural causes according to the agency’s email.
- Reps. Rashida Tlaib and Delia C. Ramirez say they are deeply concerned and call for a transparent probe, noting this is the 30th death in ICE custody this year, the highest total since 2005.
- ICE has not publicly released further details; local health officials say they received no death notification and report TB testing at the facility with no outbreak confirmed.
- The Baldwin, Michigan facility reopened in June under GEO Group with capacity for about 1,800 people, and more than 1,400 were in custody during Tlaib’s Dec. 5 visit as nationwide detention reached a record near 65,700.
- Advocates and lawsuits allege inadequate care at North Lake, including a case involving missed chemotherapy, while DHS disputes the claims and says detainees receive comprehensive medical services.