Two migrant men — one from Ukraine and the other from Honduras — have died while in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody in Florida, raising new concerns over the quality of medical treatment at detention facilities.
A recent Miami Herald investigation revealed troubling details behind the deaths of Maksym Chernyak, 44, and Genry Ruiz-Guillen, 29. Both passed away at the Krome North Service Processing Center in Miami-Dade County under what medical experts say were entirely preventable circumstances.
Chernyak, a Ukrainian refugee who had helped evacuate civilians during Russia’s invasion, suffered a massive stroke on February 20. Despite experiencing multiple seizures and becoming unresponsive, it reportedly took staff more than 40 minutes to call 911. By the time he reached the hospital, doctors diagnosed irreversible brain damage.
“In neurology, we have a saying: ‘time is brain’—every minute a stroke isn’t treated means more brain tissue lost,” explained Dr. Altaf Saadi, a neurologist at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard associate professor, who reviewed the case.
Just weeks earlier, Ruiz-Guillen had died following severe confusion and frequent seizures. His autopsy cited complications from schizoaffective disorder, though several experts, including forensic pathologist Dr. Michael Baden, challenged this conclusion. Toxicology reports revealed a combination of antipsychotic medications and signs of rhabdomyolysis — a muscle breakdown that can be triggered by overmedication or physical restraint.
These deaths are not isolated. Between December 2024 and April 2025, ICE reported four detainee deaths in Florida, accounting for half of all such deaths nationwide in fiscal year 2025. The other two included Marie Ange Blaise, a 44-year-old Haitian woman who died in April at the Broward Transitional Center, and Ramesh Amechand, a 60-year-old man from Guyana who died in December.
Despite growing public scrutiny, ICE has not released full mortality reviews or surveillance footage tied to these deaths. The agency insists that detainees receive adequate medical screening and emergency care — a claim widely disputed by internal records and independent medical reviews.
