ICE Detainee Dies From Tooth Infection Left Untreated for Weeks, Officials and Family Say
Alex Woodward The Independent
Haitian asylum seeker Emmanuel Damas died in ICE custody after complaining of a toothache, family members and officials say. (photo: Chandler City Council member Christine Ellis)
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The 56-year-old Haitian asylum seeker struggled to receive timely medical care, according to Arizona officials
Two years later, he died in federal custody while hospitalized for an infected tooth, according to Arizona officials.
The 56-year-old asylum seeker, a father of two, was hospitalized after he struggled to receive timely medical care for a worsening toothache, according to Chandler City Councilwoman Christine Ellis.
Ellis, a registered nurse who is Haitian-American, said she is “deeply heartbroken” by news of his death.
At least 35 people have died in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody since Donald Trump returned to the White House and accelerated efforts to quickly arrest, detain and deport tens of thousands of people.
Damas is expected to be the 10th person to die in ICE custody so far this year; ICE has acknowledged eight deaths, and local officials in Arizona and California have reported two additional in-custody deaths in their states. Officials in New York are also investigating the circumstances leading to the death of a Rohingya refugee who was last seen in Border Patrol custody.
Damas entered the United States under Joe Biden-era humanitarian protections in 2024. Those protections expired two years later. Trump’s Homeland Security Kristi Noem is pursuing legal challenges to revoke protections that could endanger tens of thousands of vulnerable Haitians and other immigrants with temporary legal protections extended under Biden.
He was arrested in Boston in September 2025 and transferred to an ICE detention center in Arizona, according to Ellis.
On February 12, he began complaining about a toothache but was only given ibuprofen, according to his brother Presly Nelson.
After complaining for two weeks, he collapsed. He was transferred to a Scottsdale hospital last week.
By the time his family arrived from Boston to visit him, he was intubated. He died Monday, according to his family.
“When we got there he had been in this coma for the last nine days,” Nelson told ACB15. “We believe in God. We thought a miracle could happen.”
Ellis said she learned the details of his death from his family members, who provided her with photographs of Damas appearing unconscious and intubated while in an intensive care unit. Ellis shared the images on Instagram.
His alleged struggle to receive timely medical attention “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 comment from Homeland Security.
“Far too many immigrants — including Haitian nationals — have died in ICE custody,” said Guerline Jozef, executive director of immigrant advocacy group Haitian Bridge Alliance.
“The death of Emmanuel Damas is a devastating reminder that our immigration detention system is failing the most basic standard of human dignity,” she said. “People seeking safety should not die from untreated medical conditions while in government custody. These deaths demand urgent accountability, transparency, and meaningful reform.”
The number of people in ICE custody has exploded since Trump returned to the White House, with more than 60,000 being held at any given point inside detention centers across the country.
Conditions inside detention centers have come under heightened scrutiny following lawsuits alleging unsanitary and inhumane conditions inside, outbreaks of measles in at least two facilities, and the hospitalizations and alleged medical mistreatment of children inside a sprawling camp that is holding a growing number of immigrant families.
Homeland Security officials have repeatedly defended the level of care provided to detained immigrants.
Detainees are provided with “comprehensive medical care” from the moment they enter ICE custody, an agency spokesperson told The Independent last 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,” according to DHS. “This is the best healthcare many aliens have received in their entire lives.”
