A Belarusian asylum seeker in ICE custody is at risk of serious harm, according to her partner, after the facility allegedly failed to provide medication she needs following cancer treatment. Katsiaryna Bartko, 33, had her thyroid and parathyroid glands removed during a cancer battle 11 years ago and has since relied on daily calcium and hormone replacement drugs; her partner, Dmitry Shyshov, says her health is visibly deteriorating and fears she could die in detention. Bartko fled Belarus in March 2022 on a student visa, citing her opposition to the Lukashenko regime and to Russia's war in Ukraine, and says she would face arrest and torture if deported.

Bartko was arrested in Miami in May over a domestic dispute charge that was later dismissed, and was taken into ICE custody on 4 June after officials cited her lapsed student visa, filed alongside an asylum application in February 2023. She has since been held at a CoreCivic-run facility in Leavenworth, Kansas, with her asylum hearing scheduled for 28 September 2026. Supporters say she has suffered medical emergencies, including critically low calcium levels requiring hospital treatment, and was reportedly told by officers to stop making medical inquiries when she sought her prescribed medication.