Bulgarian Detainee Dies in ICE Custody at Michigan Facility
Bulgarian man dies in ICE custody in Baldwin, Michigan
Nenko Gantchev, a 56-year-old Bulgarian man from Chicago, died on Monday at the North Lake Correctional Facility in Baldwin, Michigan, while in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The North Lake Correctional Facility is a private prison contracted by ICE to hold undocumented migrants and can house up to 1,800 people exclusively for ICE.
Details of detention and death
According to a statement by the Department of Homeland Security, Gantchev's death is suspected to be from natural causes, but the official cause of death remains under investigation. ICE stated that, based on initial reports, Gantchev was discovered unresponsive on the floor of his cell during routine checks. Facility medical staff responded, began cardiopulmonary resuscitation and contacted local emergency medical services. When emergency medical personnel arrived at the North Lake facility, they continued medical care, and a physician pronounced Gantchev deceased.
The Mid Michigan Medical Examiner Group, which provides medical examiner services for Lake County, where the facility is located, said that deaths in federal custody are released through the federal facility’s public affairs office and that their office releases the manner and cause of death only after certification. A Chicago funeral director reported that an autopsy was performed by the Big Rapids Morgue and that Gantchev’s remains would eventually be cremated in accordance with the family’s wishes.
Notification to family and official communication
Gantchev’s wife said she learned of her husband’s death on December 16, when she received a call from the Bulgarian Embassy informing her that he had died in ICE custody. She said that, the previous night, she had not received the nightly phone call she expected from him and that an online ICE locator indicated he had been released. The Bulgarian Embassy later delivered her a letter from the ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Acting Field Office Director in Detroit, stating that her husband had died and that someone would contact her with more information and procedures for receiving his belongings. As of Friday, according to his wife, she had not received further calls from ICE, GEO Group, or the Michigan Medical Examiner’s office.
Legal status, arrest, and detention background
ICE officials stated that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services granted Gantchev lawful permanent residence status in May 2005. USCIS later denied that status in 2009. In May 2008, Park Ridge police arrested him for driving under the influence, according to a police spokesperson. In 2023, an immigration judge ordered Gantchev removed to Bulgaria, his country of origin. ICE officials said this removal order prompted his arrest in September 2024.
Gantchev’s wife said he was arrested by ICE on September 23 when he arrived at a USCIS office in Chicago for an interview related to a green card application. She stated that agents appeared when he arrived for the appointment. Court records cited in the report indicate that a federal judge in Chicago ordered Gantchev and hundreds of others released on bond last month after their warrantless arrests were flagged as possibly violating the Castañon Nava consent decree. In those records, federal officials indicated Gantchev’s release was not considered a high risk to public safety. The order was subsequently blocked by the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, leaving him in custody at North Lake.
Health condition and ongoing inquiries
Gantchev’s wife and friends said that he had type 2 diabetes. They reported that he told them by phone that his physical health had been deteriorating while detained at North Lake. They stated that they were providing money so he could buy food from the commissary. They also reported that on the day of his death, they received no information beyond being told he had died.
A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security said that all allegations of poor treatment in ICE detention facilities are false. GEO Group, which owns the North Lake Correctional Facility, referred all questions about Gantchev’s death to ICE and did not provide additional information.
Calls for investigation and documented outcomes
Chicago Congresswoman Delia Ramirez released an online statement calling for an immediate, transparent investigation into the circumstances of Gantchev’s death, including reports from other detainees that he requested medical assistance and did not receive it in time. Ramirez stated that there have been at least 30 deaths at ICE detention centers in 2025, describing it as the deadliest year for immigrants in ICE custody. The Michigan Immigrant Rights Center stated that Gantchev’s death is part of a pattern of deaths in ICE custody and said this was the 29th death in ICE custody since the Trump inauguration, compared with 26 deaths during four years of the Biden administration.
Confirmed outcomes at this time are that Nenko Gantchev died while detained at the North Lake Correctional Facility in Baldwin, Michigan; an autopsy has been performed; his remains are scheduled to be cremated in line with family wishes; and the official cause of death remains under investigation by relevant authorities.