Haitian asylum seeker dies from untreated tooth infection in ICE custody
Mar 2, 2026·Location: Florence, AZ
Country of origin: Haiti

Emmanuel Damas, a 56-year-old Haitian who arrived in the U.S. under the Biden Administration's Humanitarian Parole program with a pending Temporary Protected Status application, died on March 2, 2026, from sepsis caused by an untreated dental infection. Damas was detained at Florence Correctional Center in Arizona and repeatedly reported tooth pain to facility staff starting in mid-February, requesting dental care multiple times but receiving only ibuprofen. After two weeks of complaints and developing difficulty breathing, he was taken to a Scottsdale hospital on February 19, but the infection had already progressed to septic shock and pneumonia. Damas died at the hospital. Representatives Ansari, Grijalva, and Stanton demanded a full investigation, noting he was the tenth person to die in ICE custody in the first two months of 2026.
Timeline
Sources
- Haitian man from Boston dies in ICE custody in Arizona. Family says untreated toothache became deadly infection.
- Reengineering detention: Why ICE’s shift from prison to
- Reps. Ansari, Grijalva, and Stanton Demand Investigation into Death of Haitian Asylum Seeker Emmanuel Damas Held in ICE Custody | U.S. House Representative Yassamin Ansari
- Death of MN man at Texas detention facility raises concerns
www2.startribune.com·Jan 24, 2026·archived copy
- firrp.org
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