Ukrainian man held at Krome center dies from brain bleed while in immigration custody

Syra Ortiz Blanes and Claire Healy, Miami Herald on Feb 26, 2025

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A 44-year-old Ukrainian man died in a local hospital while in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Miami’s Krome Detention Center, the federal government said.

A physician at HCA Kendall Hospital reported that Maksym Chernyak died from “bleeding from the brain” on Feb. 20, two days after he had been hospitalized with vomiting and seizures, according to an ICE press statement.

It is the latest in a series of deaths from medical causes at the facility. Of the six reported deaths in ICE custody since October 2024, half have been at Krome, according to official death reports from the agency. Since December, a person has died each month while in ICE custody at Krome.

On Wednesday, ICE referred the Miami Herald to the death reports the agency has released of the previous two deaths. The death of the Ukrainian national is still under active investigation under Department of Homeland Security protocols.

Chernyak entered the U.S. through a Biden-era humanitarian parole program created after Russia invaded Ukraine, with authorization to stay in the country until August 2026. Chernyak was detained in Krome Detention Center on Feb. 2, after he was arrested in Broward County on a charge of battery with bodily harm. At HCA Kendall, he was put on stroke alert because of his unresponsive state. The staff attempted to stabilize Chernyak. They intubated him, gave him intravenous medications, and conducted a CT scan of his head.

“Medical staff began brain death protocol Feb. 19 due to the massive intra-cranial hemorrhage,” ICE said in a press release.

On Jan. 23, Genry Ruiz Guillen, a 29-year-old man from Honduras, died after months of medical reports related to dizziness and epileptic seizure activity while he was at Krome. On Dec. 16, a 60-year-old Ramesh Amechand, a citizen of Guyana, died of unknown causes. Doctors identified asystole, the complete absence of electrical activity in the heart, as the preliminary cause of death, according to an ICE report. He was a long-time green-card resident who ICE arrested in 2022, after he was sentenced to 10 years in prison for attempted lewd or lascivious molestation of a minor. Amechand had several health conditions, including diabetes and cardiovascular disease, according to ICE.

Under ICE policy, people who enter custody must receive a medical, mental health and dental screening within 12 hours of arriving. Krome has a medical facility with doctors and a pharmacy on site for check ups and medications. When needed, emergencies are dispatched to hospitals outside of the facility.

The most recent DHS inspection of the facility was published in April 2024, based on observations made during June 2023 visits. The report found that medical staff generally complied with standards and offered timely and appropriate care. However, it raised concerns about “sick calls, staffing vacancies, and submission of medical grievances.”