Posts
A Haitian man who was living in Dorchester and seeking asylum when he was detained in September by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents died in federal custody this week from an untreated tooth infection, his brother said.
Emmanuel Damas, 56, was eventually transferred to the medium-security Florence Correctional Center in Arizona after he was detained and was held there for several months. In mid-February, he told personnel at the facility that he had a toothache, but he was not sent to a dentist, his brother, Presly Nelson, told the Associated Press.
Damas died Monday at an area hospital. The circumstances of his death have sparked outrage among lawmakers in Massachusetts and Arizona. On Thursday, Senators Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren, along with Representative Ayanna Pressley, wrote a letter to former Department of Homeland secretary Kristi Noem and ICE acting director Todd Lyons demanding a full investigation into the death of Damas. They also called on the DHS to provide proper medical treatment care to detainees.
Damas is at least the 10th person to die in ICE custody this year, the lawmakers said.
After Damas first informed staff of his nagging tooth pain, he visited the health clinic at the detention center over the course of two days, on Feb. 17 and Feb. 18. He was given over-the-counter medications but was reportedly denied dental treatment, according to the lawmakers. Several days later, Damas told his family that his condition had worsened and he could no longer speak properly. He informed them he would be taken to a hospital, the letter states.
On Feb. 20, staff at the HonorHealth John C. Lincoln Medical Center told his family that Damas was suffering from pneumonia and had been placed on life support in the intensive care unit, where he remained in critical condition, according to the letter. Lawmakers wrote that his family was left unaware of his medical condition and physical whereabouts.
“For the next few days, the hospital declined to release Mr. Damas’s medical information and redirected his brother, Presly Nelson, to ICE. Mr. Nelson repeatedly contacted the Florence detention facility to obtain more information, to no avail,” Pressley, Warren, and Markey said in the letter.
On Feb. 23, Nelson reached out to the ICE facility again and was told that Damas had been moved back into detention. He was not given any information about his brother’s condition, according to lawmakers. That same day, Markey contacted ICE and requested an update on his health status and location.
“ICE did not provide satisfactory answers, blaming the lack of a Privacy Release Form. Senator Markey had made clear that a Privacy Release Form was impossible given that it was unclear where Mr. Damas was located and if he was even alive,” the letter states.
Days later, the Damas family learned he had been hospitalized again and was scheduled for surgery on Feb. 26, lawmakers wrote. Damas died on March 2.
His family has alleged that ICE did not provide Damas with timely medical care, “allowing an untreated toothache to become a deadly infection,” according to lawmakers. Further, Nelson’s “entreaties for information about his brother’s well-being were met with silence and stonewalling.”
The family was kept “in the dark until it was far too late,” said the Massachusetts lawmakers, adding that the case “raises serious questions regarding ICE’s ability to timely treat and care for individuals it detains.”
His deaths comes amid growing concerns about the conditions inside federal immigration detention centers, with last year marking the deadliest in ICE history in over two decades, lawmakers said.
“It is unacceptable that, under your watch, DHS has failed to keep immigrants in its custody safe from preventable death,” they added. “As Mr. Damas’s death tragically highlights, individuals in ICE’s custody are not treated in accordance with the standards governing ICE’s conduct.”
The Florence detention center where Damas died is “owned and operated by CoreCivic, one of the largest for-profit detention contractors,” according to lawmakers. “CoreCivic has long been roiled by reports of horrific conditions and insufficient medical care in its detention centers.”
Pressley, Warren, and Markey called his death “a tragedy and likely, a highly preventable one.” The lawmakers requested answers to a number of questions about the circumstances of his death by March 20.
“His passing has shaken a family and community that have shown remarkable strength in the face of unimaginable loss. Mr. Damas’s family members deserve to know the full truth of what happened to him,” they said.
This is a developing story.
Shannon Larson can be reached at shannon.larson@globe.com. Follow her @shannonlarson98.
