Lukasz Niec, MD, a Polish-born hospitalist at Bronson Methodist Hospital in Kalamazoo, Michigan, who has lived in the United States for nearly 40 years, remains in a Calhoun County jail cell a week after he was handcuffed and detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Dr Niec, 43, was detained January 16 at his home as he helped his stepdaughter off to school. Reasons for the detention were not immediately available, and ICE has not responded to inquiries from several news organizations.
But according to the Washington Post, the “notice to appear” referenced two misdemeanor convictions from 1992 — one for malicious destruction of property valued at less than $100, from January 1992; and another a few months later for receiving stolen property valued at more than $100. He was 17 years old at the time.
Dr Lukasz Niec Courtesy of Bronson Healthcare
His sister, Iwona Niec Villaire, 44, a corporate attorney in the Detroit area, told Medscape Medical News that the second of those convictions was expunged from his criminal record as part of a guilty plea through Michigan’s Holmes Youthful Trainee Act. But she said that even though the crime was removed from his record, the two crimes together can still be used against him for purposes of deportation.
She said her brother is allowed two visitors a week, and only on Wednesdays. When she saw him last week, he was “scared and confused.”
“We are still stunned and do not understand,” she said. “The family has been told a bond hearing is scheduled for February 7,” she said. “My brother has renewed his green card, worked hard and been a good family man. His family and patients need him. He should not sit in a jail cell waiting for a hearing,” she said.
Dr Niec married Rachelle Burkart-Niec, a charge nurse in a Bronson hospital, in 2016. Her Facebook page asks people to urge Michigan Governor Rick Snyder to intervene.
Villaire said the family is pleading with ICE to release Dr Niec on bond “so he can work and take care of his family” pending the outcome of the proceedings.
Doctor Had Permanent Green Card
She was 6 years old and her brother was 5 when their parents, now deceased, brought them to the United States in 1979. Dr Niec has lived and worked here legally on a permanent green card, which he renewed regularly, Villaire said.
Now they fear he could be deported to Poland, where he doesn’t speak the language and doesn’t remember anyone, Villaire said.
Hospital Releases Statement
Bronson Healthcare, which owns the hospital where Dr Niec works, released a statement this week.
“While Bronson Healthcare, like others, respects the laws and regulations concerning United States immigration, we are following the situation surrounding the detention of Dr Lukasz Niec closely and are doing everything we can to advocate for Dr Niec. We have been in contact with our elected representatives, and we have our immigration counsel coordinating with Dr Niec’s attorney to explore all options to secure his prompt release from detention.
“There are two misdemeanor convictions from 26 years ago that have been cited by ICE to support Dr Niec’s detention. We believe that Dr Niec’s recent history as a contributing member of our community is far more indicative of the type of person he is than the incidents that occurred when he was a teenager.
“Since 2007, Dr Niec has been a skilled and caring physician, a valued employee and respected member of the Bronson medical staff. His detention in a county jail while awaiting deportation proceedings simply does not make sense. Given all that he has contributed in the form of exemplary patient care, and Bronson’s ongoing need for Dr Niec’s continued service as a hospitalist, we are requesting the community’s best interest be considered and he be allowed to return to work and his family as soon as possible.”
Outrage
His detention sparked outrage among coworkers.
Hussein Akl, MD, a hospitalist and medical director for Dr Niec’s 53-physician group, helped train and then hired Dr Niec at Bronson after his residency in 2007. They have since been colleagues and friends.
“He’s a physicians’ physician,” Dr Akl told Medscape Medical News. “He works hard every day to make sure everybody’s on time and designated to their spots. We monitor and shift approximately 250 patients a day.”
Coverage at work will be a challenge, he said, but “more importantly, it’s the family aspect — the fact that they can take him out of his environment and his family and from his bigger family at the hospital and the team he’s a part of and have him go through this — that’s been the most painful thing,” he said.
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