ICE detainee dies from tooth an infection left untreated for weeks, officers and household say | EUROtoday

Emmanuel Damas sought asylum within the United States after fleeing Haiti, the place he labored as a handyman.

Two years later, he died in federal custody whereas hospitalized for an contaminated tooth, in response to Arizona officers.

The 56-year-old asylum seeker, a father of two, was hospitalized after he struggled to obtain well timed medical look after a worsening toothache, in response to Chandler City Councilwoman Christine Ellis.

Ellis, a registered nurse who’s Haitian-American, mentioned she is “deeply heartbroken” by information of his loss of life.

At least 35 individuals have died in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody since Donald Trump returned to the White House and accelerated efforts to rapidly arrest, detain and deport tens of 1000’s of individuals.

Damas is anticipated to be the tenth particular person to die in ICE custody up to now this 12 months; ICE has acknowledged eight deaths, and native officers in Arizona and California have reported two extra in-custody deaths of their states. Officials in New York are additionally investigating the circumstances resulting in the loss of life of a Rohingya refugee who was final seen in Border Patrol custody.

Damas entered the United States below Joe Biden-era humanitarian protections in 2024. Those protections expired two years later. Trump’s Homeland Security Kristi Noem is pursuing authorized challenges to revoke protections that might endanger tens of 1000’s of susceptible Haitians and different immigrants with short-term authorized protections prolonged below Biden.

He was arrested in Boston in September 2025 and transferred to an ICE detention heart in Arizona, in response to Ellis.

On February 12, he started complaining a few toothache however was solely given ibuprofen, in response to his brother Presly Nelson.

After complaining for 2 weeks, he collapsed. He was transferred to a Scottsdale hospital final week.

By the time his household arrived from Boston to go to him, he was intubated. He died Monday, in response to his household.

“When we got there he had been in this coma for the last nine days,” Nelson instructed ACB15. “We believe in God. We thought a miracle could happen.”

Ellis mentioned she discovered the small print of his loss of life from his relations, who supplied her with pictures of Damas showing unconscious and intubated whereas in an intensive care unit. Ellis shared the pictures on Instagram.

His alleged wrestle to obtain well timed medical consideration “raises serious and painful concerns about the quality of care provided to individuals in custody,” Ellis wrote.

“No one should die under such horrific conditions,” wrote Democratic Rep. Yassamin Ansari.

“After four oversight visits to ICE facilities in Arizona, I’ve witnessed inhumane treatment and medical neglect firsthand,” she added. “I will continue fighting to stop this.”

The Independent has requested remark from Homeland Security.

The variety of individuals in ICE custody has exploded since Trump returned to the White House, with greater than 60,000 being held at any given level inside detention facilities throughout the nation.

Conditions inside detention facilities have come below heightened scrutiny following lawsuits alleging unsanitary and inhumane circumstances inside, outbreaks of measles in at the least two amenities, and the hospitalizations and alleged medical mistreatment of youngsters inside a sprawling camp that’s holding a rising variety of immigrant households.

Homeland Security officers have repeatedly defended the extent of care supplied to detained immigrants.

Detainees are supplied with “comprehensive medical care” from the second they enter ICE custody, an company spokesperson instructed The Independent final month.

That care “includes medical, dental and mental health intake screening within 12 hours of arriving at each detention facility, a full health assessment within 14 days of entering ICE custody or arrival at a facility, and access to medical appointments and 24-hour emergency care,” in response to DHS. “This is the best healthcare many aliens have received in their entire lives.”