Brooklyn Rep. Yvette Clarke is turning up the heat on federal immigration officials after the death of Haitian asylum-seeker Emmanuel Damas, who died last Monday while in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody. Damas, 56, became critically ill after reporting severe tooth pain while detained at the Florence Correctional Center in Arizona, according to his family, and was later pronounced dead at a hospital in Scottsdale. In a letter to the Department of Homeland Security, Clarke called the case “a serious matter that demands transparency, accountability, and a thorough investigation.”
Lawmakers Demand Answers
Clarke, joined by House Haiti Caucus co-chairs Rep. Ayanna Pressley and Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, signed a March 9 letter to DHS leaders seeking medical records, transfer logs, and a detailed timeline of what happened, according to Brooklyn Eagle. The lawmakers made the letter public online and pressed DHS to explain why Damas was never sent to a dentist after reporting tooth pain, who signed off on his hospital transfers, and when his next of kin were notified. The publicly posted version of the letter is available via Google Drive.
ICE Timeline and Hospital Care
ICE released its own timeline stating that Damas first reported shortness of breath on Feb. 19 and was moved from Florence to a nearby hospital, where he underwent chest tube placement, a thoracentesis, and a right video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery before his condition failed to improve, per WCVB. The agency said the preliminary cause of death is still pending and that it notified the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General and ICE’s Office of Professional Responsibility. CoreCivic, the private company that operates the Florence complex, has declined to comment publicly and is referring questions to ICE while the case is under review.
Damas’s brother, Presly Nelson, told reporters that Emmanuel first complained of a toothache on Feb. 13 and was given only ibuprofen at the detention center before his health rapidly declined. Family members say hospital staff told them ICE controlled what information could be shared. “I don't know what happened in that facility,” Nelson said, according to The Associated Press. Advocates and several Massachusetts lawmakers have called for an independent review of the circumstances surrounding his death.
Legal and Oversight Questions
Local reporting indicates that Damas was arrested by Boston police on Sept. 14 and transferred into ICE custody the following day, then moved to the Florence facility under mandatory-detention procedures, according to KJZZ. The House Haiti Caucus letter asks for documents that could show whether required medical screenings, specialist referrals, and continuity-of-care protocols were actually followed during his months in detention.
Calls for Oversight
The lawmakers’ letter urges DHS to turn over records and a clear, step-by-step timeline, warning that if the agency cannot fully explain what happened, it may face additional oversight and potential congressional action, per Brooklyn Eagle. Damas’s death is one of at least nine reported fatalities in ICE custody so far this year, a tally raised in regional coverage, and critics say only public records can reconcile agency claims about available care with the harrowing stories families are telling. WCVB notes ICE’s statement that “comprehensive medical care is provided” to people in its custody.
The Department of Homeland Security had not immediately responded to media requests for further comment when reporters first began asking questions, according to The Associated Press. For Damas’s relatives, and for lawmakers from Brooklyn to Boston, the push for answers now runs through paper: medical charts, transfer logs, and internal emails that could shape how medical care in immigration detention is overseen going forward.
