Detainee Dies in ICE Custody in Ciscomani’s District—Juan Has Nothing to Say!

Photo by Damas family, via WCVB in Boston

The Trump administration and the Republican-controlled Congress have approved $85 billion in the past year for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE), an increase of more than 750 percent. Congressman Juan Ciscomani has unfailingly voted for these gargantuan increases. He always says that securing the nation’s borders against illegal immigration is worth the money.

The Republican goal was originally to rid the US of illegal immigrants with criminal records, although its own statistics showed that “In January, nearly 43% of those detained had no convictions or charges, according to publicly available ICE data.” [www.factcheck.org/2026/01/as-ice-arrests-increased-a-higher-portion-had-no-u-s-criminal-record/]

Emmanuel Damas, a native of Haiti seeking humanitarian immigrant status, was living in Boston until police there arrested him on a domestic violence charge last September. He was promptly taken away by ICE agents for deportation as a “criminal illegal alien,” despite his never having had the chance to go to court to try to prove his innocence.

Within two weeks Emmanuel was sent to the Florence Detention Center, one of six (so far) ICE detention facilities in Arizona. There he sat, waiting for his deportation appeal to be heard. But on February 19 Damas said he was short of breath and was hospitalized. He died at a Scottsdale hospital 11 days later. The official version from ICE says the cause of death was “unknown.” [https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/criminal-illegal-alien-ice-custody-passes-away-scottsdale-arizona?_bhlid=fff85b018b290c1c0bf4b57c3b2f819988e87ed4]

His family, though, offers up a different version—a week before Damas was first hospitalized, he had an infected tooth, which went untreated except for over-the-counter pain medicine.  Boston television station WCVB reported that “Damas’ brother, Presly Nelson, said his brother complained of a toothache in mid-February and that his condition was not taken seriously. According to Nelson, Damas was taken to a hospital only after his infection spread and he later ended up on life support as a result of his illness and died.” [www.wcvb.com/article/mass-lawmakers-demand-accountability-emmanuel-damas-death/70627612]

Christine Ellis, a Haitian American who is a registered nurse and, importantly, a Chandler city council member, is one of several people who have taken up Damas’ cause: “Nobody should die from a toothache…Something has to be done.” [https://tucson.com/news/local/border/article_a5053df1-4ade-4424-972f-e9f5270829bb.html]

The ICE inspector general’s office, already busy investigating 22 other deaths in ICE custody since last October, will check out Damas’ case, because that’s its responsibility, but also since Massachusetts Congress members are demanding answers.

It’s highly unlikely that Representative Ciscomani will be ringing up the IG, though, even though Damas died in his Congressional district. Damas never was a voter here, of course, and probably not a Republican, either. Ciscomani also never uttered a peep about a 78-year-old grandmother, incarcerated at the Eloy Detention Center for months as her mental health deteriorated, who was finally released to her family after an Arizona Daily Star investigation.

Ciscomani’s district has many ICE prisons, in Florence and Eloy, and soon, in Marana. He will stage many uncontroversial appearances around his district in the coming months, but likely won’t be caught dead near any sites associated with ICE. Approval of the Republican push for deportation is crashing among the voting public, and at a Republican House conference the other day, “White House and top House Republican officials have told GOP members to avoid discussing ‘mass deportations’ ahead of the midterm elections, backing away from public discussion of a central campaign pledge of President Donald Trump.” [www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/03/10/trump-gop-deportations-midterms/]

So, while ICE continues to lock up old ladies and sick men, denying them proper health care, Juan will just duck the issue, as he does with so many when the Republican position is so unpopular with the voters. Just why does he think other immigrants can die, while he is an immigrant himself and feels safe?