LAKE COUNTY — U.S. Reps. Haley Stevens and Hillary Scholten toured the ICE detention center in Baldwin and said they are seeking more transparency after the death of a detainee at the facility.
The two Democrats visited Northern Michigan looking for answers about the December death of Nenko Gantchev, 56, and about ICE operations more broadly.
“Unfortunately, the outreach that Congresswoman Scholten and I made to our Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem went unanswered, around the death of Mr. Gantchev,” Stevens said.
Gantchev died at the facility in December, and ICE said he died of natural causes.
Stevens and Scholten said they decided to visit in person after receiving no response to their message to Noem. They said they were given a tour as if they were coming in as a detainee, and said it was a planned visit that made it difficult to assess what day-to-day conditions are like.
“The facility today was clean. It was individuals who were getting their meals on time. You know, we heard from individuals who said that they were getting everything that they needed,” Scholten said.
Scholten said that did not resolve concerns about what conditions may have been at other times.
“An individual has died in this facility, and we still don’t have answers as to why, and that is important not to lose sight of just because you know, things looked in order today, right, doesn’t mean that’s always how it existed,” Scholten said.
The representatives said they spoke with one man who did not think he was getting the medical attention he needed, and with another man who feared retribution for describing time in what was known as “the hole,” which they compared to solitary confinement, for weeks.
“He spoke of being, you know, kept in a freezing room where he couldn’t feel his toes and, you know, having his food just thrown into his cell. So these are things that we really need to take seriously, you know, the bunking situation is two to a room. There’s a central room where about 100 people who are in that pod,” Scholten said.
They also said they spoke with a pregnant woman who was “very emotional,” according to Scholten.
“The pregnant woman who we spoke to was absolutely beside herself. She’s got an 18 month old at home. Who said just sobbed on the phone when, you know, she was able to finally speak to her. She found out she was pregnant when she came here. And, you know, she’s just beside herself to try and get back to her daughter. Her husband works around the clock,” Scholten said.
The lawmakers said nearly 100 people signed up seeking help, but they were able to meet with four people. They also said their time was reduced from three hours to two hours.
Stevens and Scholten said they are calling for an overhaul of how ICE conducts its operations, and Stevens said she supports impeaching Noem.
“Secretary Noem, for her actions at DHS, I, along with over 150 of my colleagues, believe that she is unfit for her role, that she has failed the American public. The mismanagement that we are seeing of ICE begins with her,” Stevens said.
The representatives said they plan to return for follow-up visits in the future.