The death of a Canadian citizen in U.S. immigration custody this week has intensified scrutiny of Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention centers, where migrant advocates allege systemic neglect and policy failures, The Hill reported.
A Canadian national being held at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Miami was found unresponsive this week, becoming the 11th person to die in ICE custody since October and the eighth since January, according to officials.
ICE said Thursday that Johnny Noviello, 49, died in a Florida detention center. His cause of his death is under investigation.
Noviello had become a legal permanent resident of the United States in 1991 but was convicted of racketeering and drug trafficking in Florida in 2023. After serving a year in prison, he was arrested by ICE in May and slated for deportation for violating state law.
Noviello's death prompted Canadian officials to launch an inquiry.
We are "urgently seeking" more information from U.S. officials, Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand said in a statement posted on X. She added that no further details would be released for now, out of respect for Noviello's family.
ICE called the death a "significant cause for concern." The agency said its personnel initiated CPR, used a defibrillator, and called 911 after finding Noviello unresponsive.
Officials said that detainees receive comprehensive medical, dental, and mental health screenings within 12 hours of arrival, followed by a thorough health assessment within two weeks.
"At no time during detention is a detained illegal alien denied emergent care," ICE said in a statement.
Yet advocacy groups assert that such policies are not being followed in practice.
A 2024 report by the American Civil Liberties Union, Physicians for Human Rights, and American Oversight found that 95% of deaths in ICE custody between 2017 and 2021 were preventable or possibly preventable.
"ICE has failed to provide adequate — even basic — medical and mental health care," said Eunice Cho, a senior staff attorney at the ACLU's National Prison Project. "Abuses in ICE detention should no longer go ignored."
The report examined 52 deaths and found that 88% were tied to inappropriate, delayed, or absent treatment. The findings echoed a 2023 review from the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General, which found that 1 in 5 deaths in 2021 at ICE and Customs and Border Protection sites were linked to delays or lapses in medical care.
Despite this, the DHS report concluded that there were no "underlying systemic factors" responsible for the deaths — a claim advocates dispute.
"Having reviewed the publicly available death reports for many of the deaths this year, I am worried that there were many missed opportunities for these people to have reached definitive medical care in area hospitals that may have prevented their deaths," said Dr. Katherine Peeler, medical adviser for Physicians for Human Rights.
Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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