FLORENCE, AZ — A Haitian asylum-seeking man who was being detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Florence is dead after a tooth infection was reportedly not given “timely medical care.”
The family of Emmanuel Damas, 56, tells ABC15 that he died Monday after being in the custody of ICE since September 2025.
Damas came to the U.S. in February 2024 through a program under the Biden administration..
“The program was for two years,” his brother, Presly Nelson, said.
Nelson said they were seeking asylum for him, which was denied, and so they were in the appeal process.
Damas, a father of two, was a handyman in Haiti, before coming to the United States because of unrest in the country.
“The youngest still doesn't know his father passed because he was so close to him,” he said.
Nelson tells ABC15 he and his mother had been speaking with Damas by phone while he was being detained, and he had complained in mid-February of a toothache.
Nelson said he asked his brother if he had been taken to the dentist, but Damas said they just given him ibuprofen.
Days later, Nelson said another detainee called the family to let them know Damas was rushed to the hospital.
Nelson said he and his family flew in from Boston. By that time, Damas was hooked up to a ventilator.
“When we got there he had been in this coma for the last 9 days,” said Nelson, “We believe in God. We thought a miracle could happen.”
However, hospital staff told the family it was not good.
“The nurse said he most likely he 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,” said Nelson.
The family wants an investigation into what happened at the facility. “His stay would have expired exactly on February 19th and that's the exact date when he got sick.”
“Somebody dropped the ball for whatever reason,” Nelson added.
ABC15 has reached out to ICE, and we were told that once they have information to share, we will receive it.
Read the full statement from Chandler City Councilmember Christine Ellis, released Tuesday:
"I am deeply heartbroken to learn of the death of Emmanuel Damas, a Haitian national who died yesterday while in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement here in Arizona. He was taken into ICE custody in Boston in September 2025 and was ultimately transferred to a facility in Florence.
My prayers are with Mr. Damas’ family and the Haitian community during this difficult time. No family should ever endure such a loss, especially under circumstances that raise questions about access to timely and appropriate medical care.
Family members report that Mr. Damas first experienced a toothache in mid-February, which worsened in the days that followed. His reported struggle to receive timely medical attention before being transferred to a hospital raises serious and painful concerns about the quality of care provided to individuals in custody.
As a public servant and healthcare professional, I have engaged our Arizona congressional delegation to ensure that compassion, dignity and accountability remain at the center of how we treat every human being regardless of their immigration status. May Emmanuel’s memory inspire a renewed commitment to justice and humanity in all our institutions."
