In May 2024, Russian asylum seeker Timofei Kocheshkov was detained after entering the United States with a CBP One appointment. He is currently being held at the Folkston Detention Center in Georgia.
Timofei lives with Type 1 diabetes and requires insulin three times a day along with regular medical care. Despite repeated requests and medical records provided from Russia, he has been denied the treatment he urgently needs. His health continues to decline.
We call for Timofei’s immediate release so that he can access proper health care and prevent further harm or even death.
Here’s what you can do:
Write to the ICE Atlanta Acting Field Office Director urging her to use her prosecutorial discretion to:
- Release Timofei now so he can get the urgent medical care he needs.
Write to:
Kristen Sullivan, ICE Atlanta Acting Field Office Director
Email: Kristen.sullivan@ice.dhs.gov
Salutation: Dear Acting Field Office Director Kristen Sullivan,
And copy:
His Excellency Peter Hoekstra
Ambassador
Embassy of the United States of America
490 Sussex Drive
Ottawa, ON K1N 1G8
Tel: (613) 238-5335 / 688-5335 (24h) Fax: (613) 688-3082
Seeking safety in the U.S.
Timofei Kocheshkov, 21, is a Russian national who fled Russia with his parents and older brother, Vadim, in 2024 to seek political asylum. Timofei and Vadim entered the United States in May 2024 through California with a CBP One appointment. Despite following the process, both brothers were detained immediately and sent to the Imperial Regional Detention Facility in Calexico, California.
In the fall of 2024, the brothers were transferred to the Folkston Detention Center in Georgia. Their parents remain detained in Arizona.
Denial of medical care
Timofei was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at the age of five. Since being transferred to Folkston, he has not received proper glucose monitoring, insulin, or adequate food. This neglect has had a severe impact on his health.
In his affidavit and incident reports, Timofei detailed repeated misdiagnoses, being given the wrong type of insulin, and long delays in accessing medical care. He explained:
“Every time I ask for medical help, I have to wait weeks to see a doctor. Doctors have told me that they cannot treat me properly in here. My life every day is closer to hell. My limbs might be amputated; I may fall into a coma and die.”
His brother Vadim added: “I don’t know how to encourage him anymore, every day it is breaking him down both mentally and physically.”
History of abuse at Folkston
Folkston Detention Center has a troubling record. In November 2021, the Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general visited the facility after complaints about conditions. Their investigation included interviews with staff and detained individuals, as well as a review of medical records.
The report to Congress documented numerous abuses “that compromised the health, safety, and rights of detainees.”
Growing detention system
Folkston is run by the private prison company GEO Group, which was recently awarded a $47 million contract to expand operations. The expansion will turn the facility into part of a nearly 3,000-bed complex, making it the largest immigrant detention centre in the United States.
This comes amid a broader surge in immigration detention. From June 2024 to June 2025, the number of people in ICE custody increased by 40 percent, reaching an average of 56,000 people per day — the highest in U.S. history.
The passage of the 2025 Reconciliation Bill, also known as Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill,” increased ICE’s budget to $150 billion. This expansion is fuelling mass detention and deportation at the expense of people’s health and human rights. It is vital to hold facilities accountable and to release people like Timofei so they can access the medical care they need to survive.
Please take action as soon as possible until February 01, 2026. The UA will be duly updated should there be the need for further action.
