BALDWIN—Two members of Michigan’s congressional delegation say questions remain surrounding the December death of an inmate at a Baldwin processing facility for those detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE.
U.S. Reps. Haley Stevens, D-Birmingham, and Hillary Scholten, D-Grand Rapids, said their inquiries to the Department of Homeland Security about the death of Nenko Stanev Gantchev, a 56-year-old native of Bulgaria who died while being held at the North Lake Processing Center in Baldwin, have not been returned.
The lawmakers toured the facility on Tuesday, Feb. 17, and held a scrum with reporters afterward. Stevens criticized U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, whom she said has not responded to a congressional inquiry about Gantchev’s death.
“The oversight and the transparency of this center begins at the very top,” Stevens told reporters, who were not allowed inside the facility during the tour. “Unfortunately, the outreach that Congresswoman Scholten and I made to (Noem) went unanswered around the death of Mr. Gantchev.”
A review of Gantchev’s death remains ongoing, Stevens said. ICE previously said Gantchev died on Dec. 15, in the Baldwin prison that is about an hour-and-a-half drive north of Grand Rapids and operated by a private company, the GEO Group.
In December, ICE said Gantchev’s death was suspected to be of natural causes. ABC-7 in Chicago reported last month his family was seeking a second, private autopsy. The agency previously said he “was discovered unresponsive on the floor of his cell during routine checks. Facility medical staff responded, began CPR and contacted local emergency medical services. EMS personnel arrived at the facility and continued medical care, and a physician pronounced him deceased.”
ICE said Gantchev had a criminal history and was ordered by an immigration judge to leave the U.S. and go back to Bulgaria in January 2023, according to a previous Detroit Free Press report.
The lawmakers said they were able to see conditions inside the prison during the tour and spoke with four inmates, although close to a hundred had asked to meet with the lawmakers, Scholten said. The facility appeared clean and a pregnant woman who spoke with the representatives reported receiving adequate medical care, she added.
“And yet, we know that an individual has died in this facility and we still don’t have answers as to why,” Scholten said. “That is important to not lose sight of. Just because things looked in order today doesn’t mean that’s how it always existed.”
DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin said over email Feb. 17 all detainees are provided with meals, water and forms of medical treatments upon intake.
“ICE has higher detention standards than most U.S. prisons that hold actual U.S. citizens,” McLaughlin said. DHS encourages those in the U.S. without lawful immigration status to self-deport, noting U.S. Customs and Border Patrol offers cash incentives for those who self-deport, she added.
Around 1,500 inmates are currently being held at the Baldwin facility, lawmakers said. Inmates are brought to Baldwin from around the country, but the majority were detained in Michigan, according to the lawmakers.
Stevens said one inmate, a member of the Chaldean community who was living in Macomb County before he was detained, told lawmakers he was fearful of retribution from prison officers if he spoke with them. Scholten said the inmate reported being “kept for several weeks in what everyone there refers to as ‘the hole,’” referencing a solitary confinement-like situation, where the inmate also said he was kept in cold temperatures and not receiving adequate meals.
Following the press scrum, Scholten told the Free Press that inmates have a “vague sense” that if they violate guidelines outlined in a detainee handbook, they can be subject to discipline. Scholten’s office has requested a copy of the handbook for review, she said.
The lawmakers’ tour comes a day after ICE announced it had purchased a building in Romulus where it plans to build inmate detention facilities. Also in southeast Michigan, a federal agency had signed a lease to open an ICE office in Southfield, although officials said the space is believed to be intended for administrative and legal use.
Staff writer Niraj Warikoo contributed with prior reporting. You can reach Arpan Lobo at alobo@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Reps: Questions remain around death of ICE inmate in Michigan facility
Reporting by Arpan Lobo, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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