Man dies in ICE detention after suffering tooth infection

Saturday, March, 7 2026 - A Haitian father-of-two who was detained by ICE while seeking asylum has d!ed from a tooth infection in the agency's custody, according to his brother.

Emmanuel Damas, 56, had been in ICE detention since September, when he was picked up by officers in Florence, which is just outside of Phoenix, Arizona.

The Haitian d!ed on Monday, March 2, after suffering from a toothache for weeks, his family said.

The man's brother, Presly Nelson, told ABC15 that Damas had complained to him and their mother that his tooth was hurting back in mid-February.

The family said that despite his pain, Damas was denied requests to visit a dentist and was instead simply given ibuprofen.

Just days after the call to his brother and mother, Damas was rushed to a hospital in Scottsdale. The family said they learned of that development through a fellow detainee, rather than any ICE officials.

Nelson told ABC15 that he and his family flew to the hospital from Boston, but by the time they arrived, his brother was already hooked up to a ventilator and had been in a coma for nine days.

He said after Damas d!ed, a nurse told him, 'he most likely had a tooth infection, and he did not get the proper attention, and it had spread to his neck, then to his lungs, and he went septic, and it spread to his whole body.'

Nelson added that while his brother was in a coma, 'He was handcuffed on the bed, both [his] feet and legs, with two security guards watching over him 24 hours, seven days, nonstop.'

Damas's family is now demanding an investigation into his death and what actions were taken, or not taken, at the ICE facility while he was in custody.

'He had a toothache. All you had to do is get a driver and a security guard, or two security guards, to actually take him to a dentist,' Nelson told ABC15.

'You couldn't do that, but you had two security guards watching him 24/7 for the last 10 days.'

Damas came to the US in February 2024 during the Biden administration to escape the turmoil in Haiti.

At the time, the nation was experiencing massive protests over the unelected government of Prime Minister Ariel Henry, whose administration oversaw gangs expand their power and alliances.

Damas fled the chaos and applied for asylum. His request was denied, but he appealed it. He was detained by ICE while the appeal process was still underway, and he had been in the agency's custody for more than five months when he died.