A Chicago resident originally from Bulgaria, apprehended during a recent immigration crackdown, has passed away while detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at a private correctional facility in Michigan.

Nenko Gantchev, aged 56, died on Monday at the North Lake Correctional Facility in Baldwin, Michigan, a location utilized by ICE to detain individuals without legal documentation.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released a statement online, following repeated inquiries from ABC7’s I-Team, indicating that Gantchev’s death is “presumed to be from natural causes,” though the precise cause remains under investigation.

However, Gantchev’s family and close friends have raised concerns with the I-Team about his declining health while in custody at North Lake, which has led to increased scrutiny over the events surrounding his death.

“I want people to understand what happened to him, a man who spent 30 years here, worked hard, paid his taxes, and was treated inhumanely,” said Gantchev’s wife, a U.S. citizen who requested anonymity due to fears of reprisal from federal authorities. “They were so harsh to him… Treating him as if he were a criminal.”

Chicago Congresswoman Delia Ramirez has demanded an “immediate, transparent investigation into the circumstances of Mr. Gantchev’s death,” citing claims from other detainees that he had sought medical help but did not receive it in time to prevent his passing.

“We are aware of at least 30 deaths at ICE detention centers this year, making 2025 the deadliest year for immigrants in ICE custody,” Ramirez said in an online statement.

Photo credit: BGVoice

Gantchev was one of hundreds of people that a federal judge in Chicago ordered released on bond last month, after his warrantless arrest was flagged as possibly violating the Castañon Nava consent decree in place. In court records, federal officials indicated Gantchev’s release was not considered a high risk to public safety.

Gantchev’s wife said the order initially renewed their hope that he would be released and could seek further medical treatment, as he was diabetic.

But when the order was blocked by the Seventh Circuit Appeals Court, Gantchev’s wife said her husband Nenko faced a difficult decision: Submit to voluntary removal from the country back to Bulgaria, or stay in custody at North Lake, hoping he would eventually be granted bond.

“I told him, ‘You have to make the decision, but please don’t leave me alone here,’” his wife said. “He’s paid taxes this whole time, he’s not a criminal. Why do they treat him like this?”

As the I-Team previously reported, the North Lake facility where Gantchev was held is owned by GEO Group, one of the largest private prison companies in the country. It was contracted by ICE earlier this year to be the Midwest’s largest ICE detention center.

Company contract records show the North Lake facility was specifically contracted by ICE to house people arrested in the Chicago area because Illinois laws ban the use of private prisons and county or state correctional facilities for use by immigration enforcement.

GEO Group did not respond to the I-Team’s series of questions surrounding Gantchev’s death. A company spokesperson referred all questions to ICE.

Gantchev’s wife and close friends tell the I-Team he first moved to Chicago 30 years ago from Bulgaria on a student visa, and since then, received a work permit and owned a trucking company since 2008.

Gantchev married his wife in 2017, and she said he was in the process of applying for a green card through their marriage. Gantchev’s wife said Nenko was arrested by ICE on Sept. 23 when he showed up for an interview to discuss his green card application at the USCIS Chicago office. That’s when she said agents appeared out of nowhere, seemingly waiting for him to arrive.

Nearly three months later, the day that his wife was notified of Gantchev’s death – Dec. 16 – was the couple’s eight-year wedding anniversary.

“We had a very good life together, this is very hard for me,” Gantchev’s wife said.

Gantchev’s close family friend “Anna,” who also asked the I-Team not to use her last name out of fears for her safety, was there on Gantchev’s courthouse wedding day, and is still in shock over what has happened.

“He was just a wonderful human being, very, very docile, very good natured, funny, you know, just very helpful, the kind that would stick up for his friends,” Anna told the I-Team. “If you needed something, he would be there for you.”

Questions surrounding Gantchev’s death

Gantchev’s wife and friends told the I-Team for months, ever since Gantchev was arrested by ICE agents, he had told them over the phone that his physical health had been deteriorating.

Gantchev suffered from type 2 diabetes and told his wife no diet accommodations were made for him. She and Anna said the small amount of food that is given to people detained at North Lake was not enough for maintaining Gantchev’s blood sugar levels.

“There was no special diet,” Anna said. “There was not enough food that he needed for his condition, which is why we were sending the money through the system there so he could go to the commissary.”

Anna continued, “With diabetics, especially with type two, when they’re under a tremendous amount of stress, even if the diet were okay, the stress alone could create those blood sugar spikes, and he was not feeling well. Progressively, it was happening more and more and more.”

Gantchev’s wife told the I-Team she knew something was wrong by Monday night, when she didn’t receive an expected nightly phone call from her husband. Searching his name on the ICE locator website, she said it indicated he had been released.

But by the next morning, Gantchev’s wife said she received a call from the Bulgarian Embassy, notifying her that her husband had died in ICE’s custody.

Since then, though, she said she’s learned no new information about what happened.

Anna said this week she has been assisting her friend in trying to find answers.

“To be honest, the family hasn’t really learned much of anything,” Anna told the I-Team. “They believed he collapsed and that it may have been a heart attack, and that was it. They gave [his wife] no other information. Nobody else called her.”

In a statement, ICE said, “According to initial reports, Gantchev was discovered unresponsive on the floor of his cell during routine checks. Facility medical staff responded, began CPR and contacted local emergency medical services.”

When EMS personnel arrived at the North Lake facility, ICE said they “continued medical care, and a physician pronounced him deceased.”

The Bulgarian Embassy delivered Gantchev’s wife a letter from the ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Acting Field Office Director in Detroit telling her Gantchev had died, and that someone would be in contact with her to provide more information about her husband’s death, as well as procedures for receiving his belongings.

But as of Friday, Gantchev’s wife said she hasn’t received a call from anyone at ICE or GEO Group, nor has she received any calls from the Michigan Medical Examiner’s office performing the autopsy.

Anna said that has raised serious concerns and questions with Gantchev’s family and friends.

“There’s been no opportunity afforded to his wife to even identify him or to determine any kind of religious rites or needs for the body, nor was there permission gained to even do an autopsy,” Anna said.

A spokesperson for the Mid Michigan Medical Examiner Group, which provides medical examiner services for several Michigan counties including Lake County where the North Lake facility is located referred the I-Team to federal officials.

“Deaths in federal custody are released through the federal facility’s public affairs office,” a spokesperson named Jennifer S. said. “Our office releases the manner and cause of death only after certification.”

A Chicago funeral director told the I-Team she was informed an autopsy was performed by the Big Rapids Morgue, and that Gantchev’s remains would eventually be cremated, as per the family’s wishes.

Christine Sauvé with the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center told the I-Team she fears Gantchev’s death could have been prevented and is evidence of a larger pattern.

“Mr. Gantchev’s death sadly underscores how the Trump administration is exacerbating unconscionable conditions in a detention system that is proven to be inherently inhumane,” a written statement reads. “Shockingly, this is the 29th death in ICE custody since Trump’s inauguration, a record number of deaths within a calendar year since advocates began tracking in 2006. By comparison, 26 people died in ICE custody during four years of the Biden administration.”

The MIRC said, “The detention system has long subjected people to medical neglect and overcrowding, and these conditions have been well documented in Michigan.”

A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security called all allegations of poor treatment in ICE detention facilities “false.”

Nenko Gantchev’s Chicago history

In a published statement by ICE on Gantchev’s death, immigration officials labeled him a “criminal,” but court records show despite previous arrests by Chicago police, Gantchev was never charged with any serious crimes, only traffic violations.

Gantchev’s wife and friends tell the I-Team Nenko owned a trucking company called “J&D Boys” for more than a decade and loved his job.

Vanya, another friend who previously worked with Gantchev but asked the I-Team only to use her first name, said Nenko was one of the hardest workers she knew.

“I think it’s a big mess,” Vanya told the I-Team. “Everyone knows he’s a good person and hard worker.”

“He had real estate here. He had a business here. He was here a very long time,” Anna told the I-Team. “He wanted very much to be an American citizen. He was married to an American citizen.”

According to ICE officials, Gantchev was granted lawful permanent residence (LPR) status in May 2005 by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

Three years later, Gantchev was arrested by Park Ridge police for driving under the influence in May of 2008, according to police spokesperson Tom Gadomski, but the I-Team could not find any court records detailing the disposition in this case or whether Gantchev was actually charged after the arrest.

ICE officials said USCIS denied Gantchev’s LPR status in 2009, and 14 years later in 2023, an immigration judge ordered Gantchev to be removed to Bulgaria, his country of origin.

That removal order is what triggered his arrest in September while attending a green card interview at the USCIS offices in Chicago.

Gantchev’s wife and friends are adamant that his green card application was close to being approved.

“He was trying to do it right, and it’s sad that he’ll never see the fruits of that labor,” Anna said. “Maybe, if enough attention is called to what is happening here, maybe they can save someone else’s life. Maybe someone else will get that bond and get out to take care of themselves.”

Gantchev’s wife hopes by sharing her husband’s story, it will lead to better conditions for people detained by ICE across the country.

“To save somebody from this situation, for other people out there, that’s why I’m talking to you,” Gantchev’s wife told the I-Team.