42.
That is the number of people who have died in ICE-Gestapo custody since Donald Trump and his White Nationalist Fascists returned to power in 2025.
That is roughly four times the number of fatalities that occurred in these facilities in 2024.
Haitian asylum seeker Emmanuel Damas is the latest victim of Donald Trump, Stephen Miller, Tom Hohman, Corey Lewandowski, and the recently fired Kristi Noem’s repressive policies toward legal and illegal immigrants.
The cause of death. A toothache that, while Damas was in custody at the Florence Detention Center in Arizona, morphed into a sepsis infection that was too late to treat by the time the Haitian Asylum seeker was admitted into a Scottsdale Hospital.
Tragic and outrageous.
Commenting to Blog for Arizona about this needless death, Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes relayed:
“This is grossly inhuman treatment, and it is unconscionable that Mr. Damas died of these causes while in ICE custody. My heart goes out to his loved ones and family members. His family and every taxpayer deserve answers about how this was allowed to happen.“
In a normal world with a normal American Government, most of these nonviolent people would probably still be free and, more importantly, alive.
Arizona Representative Adelita Grijalva agrees.
In a statement following the report of Mr. Dama’s death, Representative Grijalva said:
“I am sickened by reports that yet another person has died in ICE custody after being left without basic medical care. A toothache should not be a death sentence. How many more people have to die at federal detention facilities before we say enough is enough?”
“Emmanuel Damas should be alive today. These are mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, sons and daughters – people dying from simple, treatable ailments because they are being treated as less than human. In other facilities, children with burning fevers are in medical distress because this administration is obsessed with meeting arbitrary deportation quotas, cramming people into detention facilities, and neglecting their most basic medical needs in order to maximize profits for private prison companies.
“These deaths have occurred under Secretary Noem’s watch, which is one of a long list of reasons why she should resign. This is not about politics – it’s about basic human dignity. I am absolutely disgusted by yet another preventable death in ICE custody, and am calling on DHS for an immediate investigation into this incident. Congress must act to dismantle ICE – a lawless and deadly agency.”
Grijalva also released the below video on social media:
Representative Yassamin Ansari also commented on this tragedy to Blog for Arizona, stating:
“Devastated for the family who lost their loved one in ICE custody. No one should die under such horrific conditions. After four oversight visits to ICE facilities in Arizona, I’ve witnessed inhumane treatment and medical neglect firsthand. I will continue fighting to stop this.”
Ansari also released a video on the firing of Homeland Insecurity Secretary Kristi Noem, whose removal did not come soon enough for the 42 fatalities in ICE custody.
In it, she credited the public pressure for helping to convince Trump to fire Noem, especially after the now departed Secretary lied about spending over $200 million in taxpayer ads to benefit herself.
Saying Noem “Has done so much damage to this country as ICE has terrorized communities across the United States, and the murder of multiple U.S. citizens, she needs to be held accountable for that,” Ansari also relayed that members of Congress will not stop reporting on the illegal excesses of Homeland Insecurity, conveying, “We are not going to let this go just because Kristi Noem is no longer there…”
Representative Greg Stanton wrote a letter to Noem before the announcement of her ouster, demanding answers on why Damas did not get the medical attention he deserved. He also posted:
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And her successor will be Oklahoma Senator MarkWayne Mullin. Best characterized by someone who said replacing Noem with Mullin is like shttng your pants and running home to change your shirt.
At least Tommy Tuberville no longer has competition for the title of Dumbest Member of the US Senate.