"Emmanuel Damas, 56, a Haitian asylum seeker, reportedly died from an infection linked to a toothache that his family said went untreated for two weeks while Damas was incarcerated at the Florence Correctional Center in Arizona. Damas appears to be the tenth person to die while in ICE custody in 2026, which would bring the total number of people to die while incarcerated by the agency under President Donald Trump to at least 39."
"According to Ellis's account in the Daily Star, Damas first reported a toothache to staff at the prison on February 12 and was given ibuprofen. Family members say he complained for nearly two weeks before collapsing after developing a dangerous infection. He was transferred to a hospital and died on March 2."
""Nobody should die from a toothache," Ellis told the Arizona Daily Star. "Something has to be done." Chandler City Councilwoman Christine Ellis, a Haitian American and registered nurse representing the Arizona community near the prison where Damas was incarcerated, spoke to his family and relayed information to local journalists."
Emmanuel Damas, a 56-year-old Haitian asylum seeker, died from an infection linked to an untreated toothache while incarcerated at Florence Correctional Center in Arizona. Damas reported the toothache on February 12 and received only ibuprofen despite complaining for nearly two weeks before collapsing and developing a dangerous infection. He died on March 2 after hospitalization. His death marks the tenth ICE custody death in 2026 and the 39th under the Trump administration. The same week, 48-year-old Alberto Gutierrez-Reyes died at Adelanto ICE Processing Center in California on February 27 after falling ill. Local officials and family members expressed concern about inadequate medical care and conditions in ICE facilities.
#ice-custody-deaths #immigration-detention #medical-care-in-detention #trump-administration-immigration-policy
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