Michigan Advocates Demand Independent Probe into Hunger Strike and Medical Neglect at ICE’s North Lake Detention Center

Two Michigan advocacy groups, the ACLU of Michigan and the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center (MIRC), are sounding the alarm about conditions inside ICE’s North Lake Detention Center in Baldwin. They are demanding an independent congressional investigation following reports that detainees launched a hunger strike on April 20 to protest prolonged detention and inadequate medical care.

According to a joint news release, people detained at North Lake have repeatedly told the ACLU and MIRC that they face “life-threatening delays and denials of care,” including a lack of follow-up after hospitalizations, refusal of prescription medications unless detainees pay, and long waits for emergency treatment. Some witnesses describe fellow detainees collapsing and begging staff for hours before receiving any medical attention.

These allegations come amid the tragic death of 56-year-old Nenko Stanev Gantchev, who died in custody at North Lake last December. While ICE attributes his death to natural causes and says medical staff responded promptly, advocates argue it underscores the facility’s dangerous neglect.

The Trump administration’s immigration crackdown fuels these abuses, says Loren Khogali, executive director of the ACLU of Michigan. “This cruel and xenophobic mass deportation agenda rounds up longtime community members and forces them into indefinite detention under inhumane conditions,” Khogali said. “North Lake’s conditions fall dangerously short of constitutional and federal standards.”

In response, ICE and the Department of Homeland Security categorically deny any hunger strike or substandard conditions. DHS claims detainees receive three meals a day, clean water, hygiene items, and access to phones and legal services. They boast that ICE detention standards exceed those of most U.S. prisons and that detainees get comprehensive medical, dental, and mental health care from day one.

But the accounts from detainees and advocates tell a different story: one of systemic neglect, inadequate oversight, and a detention system that prioritizes punishment over human dignity. The call for an independent investigation aims to hold ICE accountable and expose the ongoing abuses hidden behind official denials.

This fight is part of a broader pattern of Trump-era immigration enforcement marked by cruelty, lack of transparency, and disregard for basic rights. As the North Lake controversy unfolds, the demand for accountability grows louder — because indefinite detention in dangerous conditions is a violation of both law and humanity.