Canadian citizen dies in ICE custody; Canada 'urgently seeking more information'
Johnny Noviello, 49, was found unresponsive on June 23 at the Bureau of Prisons Federal Detention Center in Miami, according to ICE. Noviello is the eighth person to die in ICE custody in 2025.
Canadian officials are 'urgently seeking more information' after a Canadian citizen died while in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement at a detention center in Florida.
Johnny Noviello, 49, was found unresponsive on June 23 at the Bureau of Prisons Federal Detention Center in Miami, the agency said in a statement. Medical staff administered cardiopulmonary resuscitation, automated external defibrillator shock and called 911, ICE said, but Noviello was pronounced dead by the Miami Fire Rescue Department about half an hour after he was found.
The cause of Noviello's death is still under investigation, according to ICE.
"Canadian consular officials are urgently seeking more information from US officials," Foreign Minister Anita Anand said on social media. "I offer my sincere condolences to the family. In order to respect the family's privacy, further details will not be provided at this time."
Noviello, who became a lawful permanent resident of the United States in 1991, was convicted of charges including racketeering and drug trafficking in Volusia County, Florida, in 2023, ICE said. He was sentenced to 12 months in prison.
On May 15, he was arrested by ICE at a probation office, issued a notice to appear and charged with "removability," because of the controlled substance-related conviction, according to ICE.
Noviello's death comes as the Trump administration has ramped up immigration enforcement, sparking massive protests across the country.
Noviello is the 10th person to die in ICE custody during fiscal year 2025, which runs from October, according to the agency's data. Those deaths include a Haitian woman who spent more than 10 weeks in immigration custody and was held in allegedly inhumane conditions.
"ICE remains committed to ensuring that all those in its custody reside in safe, secure, and humane environments," the agency said. "Comprehensive medical care is provided from the moment individuals arrive and throughout the entirety of their stay."
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Chicago Tribune
2 hours ago
- Chicago Tribune
Chesterton officials call for investigation, resignation of Porter County 911 director
Chesterton's Town Council and Chesterton Police Chief Tim Richardson are calling for the immediate resignation of Porter County E-911 Director Debbie Gunn, accusing her of false statements regarding the performance of the Chesterton/Porter joint dispatch center during the June 18 officer-involved shooting. In addition, the town of Chesterton says they will send letters to the Porter County Council, County Commissioners and the Indiana Public Access Counselor that will request an investigation into Gunn's 'potential disclosure of privileged information' connected with specific evidence in the officer-involved shooting case. Incoming Porter Police Chief Dan Dickey on Friday issued a statement supporting Chesterton's call for Gunn's resignation, noting that her 'decision to publicly share detailed information during an active investigation was not only factually inaccurate but also inappropriately timed.' Porter County Commissioners President Jim Biggs said calls for Gunn to step down are ridiculous. 'This woman is, in my opinion, the best director that we have had in decades,' he said. 'She has given her life to making that dispatch center better.' The controversy that pits the towns of Chesterton and Porter against Gunn and Biggs, R-North, whose district includes the towns, is over how long it took an ambulance to be dispatched to the scene of the shootout on Gateway Boulevard in front of the Hilton Garden Inn the morning of June 18. Gunn maintains that the very existence of the 911 center is the issue. 'It's about the inefficient communication from a disparate center,' she said by phone Friday afternoon. 'The true issue is the inefficiencies of a separate dispatch center.' Two Chesterton police officers were dispatched June 18 to check on a 'suspicious' man on the hotel grounds. The officers' interaction with Joseph P. Gerber quickly escalated into an exchange of gunfire on Gateway Boulevard. Gerber, 45, of Winamac, fatally shot himself after being hit several times and a Chesterton police officer was shot. The Chesterton police officer is at home recovering. Gunn contends it took nearly five minutes for the Chesterton Police dispatcher to request an ambulance. Biggs, a short time after the shooting, cited the delay as evidence that it was time for Chesterton and Porter to disband and join the county's E911 consortium and that a local income tax needs to be raised to help pay for it. In a lengthy post on the town's Facebook page issued Thursday night, the town of Chesterton presented a detailed rebuttal. It is the second statement by the Town Council, which on June 23 heavily criticized statements from Biggs and Gunn that first appeared in the Post-Tribune. Chesterton officials stated they were releasing the statement Thursday because they wanted to quell any 'false panic' that Gunn and Biggs may have caused about the performance of the joint dispatch center. They defended the response to the June 18 incident as being 'first class.' Chief Richardson said Friday: 'We don't see any delayed response anywhere.' After the reaction from the Town Council to the Post-Tribune's June 22 story criticizing response times, Gunn and Biggs have stuck to their original remarks. 'As such, they are seemingly attempting to create undue panic among the citizens of Duneland with their baseless claims,' the statement said. Biggs has received considerable backlash with accusations he politicized the shooting or, at the very least, showed a lack of decorum in using it to push for the towns of Chesterton and Porter to join the county's E911 consortium on the very day of the tragedy. Some responding to the town's release on Facebook have even called for Biggs to resign. He, too, is unapologetic, releasing his own lengthy post on Facebook and scheduling a news conference for 10 a.m. Tuesday in the commissioners chambers at the county administration building to go over the timeline from the day of the shooting with documentation from Gunn's office. 'I haven't been inaccurate. I haven't done any political posturing. It's an issue that has been brewing for years. I have received several complaints over the years,' he said of the current set-up in which PC E911 dispatches fire and EMS for Chesterton and Porter, but directs police calls back to the two towns, which run dispatch out of Porter. Police Chief Richardson said with Thursday's statement, the town 'wanted to take the emotion out of it and present our case with facts and evidence.' The Post-Tribune filed an Access to Public Records Act request with Chesterton for copies of the 911 calls related to the shooting, which was denied because 'they are investigatory records of a law enforcement agency.' The town presented the following timeline and evidence: At 8:03:50 a.m., the Chesterton Police officer reports from Gateway Boulevard: 'Shots fired, I'm hit.' The Chesterton Police dispatcher, who was balancing other calls, contacts Porter County Central Communications at 8:04:48 and the dispatcher is on the line for 46 seconds, which refutes Gunn's claims that five minutes passed before police requested an ambulance. Gunn said, 'They did call 58 seconds after' an officer announced on his radio that shots were fired and he was hit, but that call came in on the administrative line. 'And 911 calls always take precedence,' Gunn said, explaining the center was swamped with them while the incident was unfolding. 'Even there, even in that argument from them, that's 58 extra seconds.' The dispatcher learns that while she was on hold, according to the town's narrative, another Porter County Communications dispatcher had radioed the ambulance station for Northwest Health at East Porter Avenue and Indiana 49. A license plate reader camera records the departure from that station at 8:08:17. Chesterton Police Sgt. Jamie Copollo, who heard the 'shots fired' call, passed East Porter Avenue and Ind. 49 at 8:05:46. She arrived at Gateway Boulevard at 8:07:30, closely followed by Porter Police Sgt. Thomas Blythe and Officer Matthew Reynolds, who heard the same distress call. Copollo radioed at 8:08:13 to dispatch that fire and EMS could enter the scene because it was deemed safe. Porter Police officers Blythe and Reynolds were already administering first aid to the downed officer. The first ambulance arrived at 8:09:03, followed closely by the second ambulance. 'This evidence unequivocally disproves another baseless claim made by Director Gunn, namely that CPD dispatch caused valuable minutes lost in ambulance response time to the shooting scene. In fact, she attempted to claim five valuable minutes lost by the CPD dispatcher's not requesting an ambulance for those five (5) minutes, according to the Sunday (June 22) Post-Tribune article,' the statement said. Additionally, officers told Chesterton Police staff that the Porter County Communications Center never advised any of them that there was an active shooter or officer down. A Valparaiso Police officer, who was patrolling near Chesterton at the time, was never informed about what was happening. 'Valuable law enforcement response time was lost by PCCC's not broadcasting this information,' the statement said. At the end of the Facebook post, Chesterton again asks for Gunn's resignation. 'Presented with this overwhelming amount of factual evidence, and given that this is not Director Gunn's first attempt to create false public panic among our Duneland residents and Town Council members, as it pertains to the joint Chesterton/Porter dispatch center, Chief Richardson and the entire Chesterton Town Council are calling for Director Gunn's immediate resignation from her position.' The official town Facebook post also personally criticized Biggs for 'running to the press within an hour or so after the shooting' with his narrative. 'His conduct was disrespectful to every brave first responder who was actively working this critical incident into the early afternoon hours,' the statement said. Porter County Board of Commissioners Vice President Ed Morales, R-South, agrees with Biggs that it is absurd for either Biggs or Gunn to step down. 'For what?' he said by text Friday. 'For pointing out a flawed process? Commissioner Biggs represents the north district and has every right to express his concerns for the public safety of the residents and the first responders who have to risk their lives in these unfortunate situations.' Commissioner Barb Regnitz, R-Center, says she doesn't know enough about the details to know who's right and who's wrong. 'We don't know if somebody's being political or somebody's being passionate,' she said. 'Their facts are probably both valid.' What she does know is that the debate playing out on social media and in the newspapers is making her uncomfortable. 'I'm concerned irreparable damage can be caused,' she said. 'My preference in conflict resolution is to meet in person, and in some cases, you might need a mediator.' And, in the end, she doesn't think the county should force the issue. 'I don't want to get into their business and tell them what to do,' she said. Chesterton Town Councilwoman Jennifer Fisher, R-5th District, stated that this incident was a time for the community to come together. 'Anyone who would choose to kick them while they have an officer down based on false and misleading allegations has gravely underestimated the strength and integrity of our community,' Fisher said in a statement Friday. Chief Richardson said Friday that he has yet to hear from Biggs or Gunn since the June 18 incident. If there were concerns about response to the situation, Richardson said there should have been a meeting to debrief those involved and discuss what could be done better in the future. 'They chose not to go that route,' Richardson said, noting that Biggs and Gunn went to the media. Richardson said he's still open to meeting with Biggs and the E-911 dispatch personnel. 'Whenever they're ready, we're ready,' Richardson said.
San Francisco Chronicle
3 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Trump is trying to turn California into a police state. Here's what's coming next
The stage is set for one hot summer on America's streets. Last week's U.S. Court of Appeals hearing on whether President Trump exceeded his authority — first, by unilaterally calling up thousands of California's National Guard troops to restore order in roughly six city blocks of Los Angeles and then by deploying hundreds of active-duty Marines specializing in urban warfare — was jaw-dropping. A Trump administration attorney argued before the court that his boss has the unreviewable power to call up the guard, not only as he has already done in the Golden State, but simultaneously in all 50 states, plus the District of Columbia. And to deploy, alongside these guard members, unlimited numbers of active-duty armed forces, such as the Marines, whose primary mission Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has repeatedly pledged will focus on 'lethality, warfighting and readiness.' The court signing off on this shocking authoritarian overreach was paired with Trump's recent comments suggesting that Los Angeles is just the beginning ('We are going to have troops everywhere'), and Hegseth's belligerent refusal in last week's Senate oversight hearing to answer the simple question of whether or not he had given the order authorizing 'live ammunition' (one might, reasonably, assume the answer is 'yes'). Outrage over the court's sanctioning of Trump's military deployments was quickly overwhelmed by his bombing of Iran. But Immigration and Customs Enforcement has continued its provocations in Los Angeles — including the apparent racial profiling and arrest of a U.S. citizen on her way to work — with military backing. National Guard troops were also deployed last week more than 130 miles away from Los Angeles to assist in the raid of a suspected marijuana farm in Riverside County. The 'legal rationale' the administration has thus far successfully floated to justify these actions was an obscure 1798 law whose Fox News-friendly statutory nomenclature has quickly evolved into a MAGA-embraced, immigrant-bashing, chest-pounding rallying cry: The wording fits perfectly with the outright lies told during Trump's presidential campaign, about how Haitian immigrants were allegedly eating everyone's cats and dogs in Springfield, Ohio, and how a Venezuelan street gang had somehow turned Aurora, Colo., (conveniently located near an ICE detention center) into a 'war zone.' The Trump administration will almost certainly ride the Alien Enemies Act train until it jumps the court-sanctioned tracks, then simply catch the next train and then the next until they/we/all of us arrive at their chosen destination: A police state. The term 'police state,' as we all know, gets tossed around a lot. But few have a clear idea of what it is. A country becomes a police state when the line between civil and military authority is rendered meaningless. We're not there yet. But here's one scenario of how we might arrive at that fate, using Los Angeles (as Trump is doing in real life) as a case study. The last time a U.S. president sent the National Guard somewhere to address civil unrest was, of course, Los Angeles in 1992 during the riots after police officers were acquitted of the Rodney King beating. The initial request for a federal response originated with the governor, rather than the president. Then, as it is now, local police, such as the Los Angeles Police Department, train and practice alongside National Guard soldiers under a federal mandate known as Defense Support of Civil Authority. These joint preparations occur during weekend training drills of National Guard and reserve units and help to identify possible weaknesses in the chain of command and in general operations. One illustrative example of how crucial a role this authority plays in emergency operations — and how quickly things can turn bad, quickly — comes from the Rodney King riots and their aftermath. As the disturbances were winding down, an L.A. police sergeant who had taken fire some days earlier returned to the scene where shots were fired. With him was a Marine Corps infantry platoon led by a young lieutenant. With the Marines stationed in front of the house, the police sergeant sent two of his men around back. Before starting across the street to investigate, the police sergeant told the Marine lieutenant to 'cover him.' The entire platoon opened up with automatic weapons fire. 'Cover me' means something very different to a Marine than it means to a police officer. To a Marine, trained only for combat, 'cover me' means opening fire when a member of your team begins to advance on a target. Most people have probably seen this in a movie, if not in a modern war video game. That, however, is not what it means to police; it's a request to raise weapons to be ready to fire should the need arise. Fortunately, no one died that day. But we may not be so lucky on today's streets, given the lack of coordination and cooperation endemic to Trump's style of leadership. Should such a tragic incident come to pass, we can expect more civil unrest — possibly even riots — and for Trump to weaponize that straight out of the fascist playbook, something he's already doing with his ICE provocations: Stir something up, wait for your loyal base to call on its dear leader to restore order. Send in more troops, provide that 'iron fist' for which your followers yearn, tighten your grip on power. Wrap yourself in the flag, flood the zone with propaganda, rinse/repeat. The aggressive actions in Los Angeles have not, as of yet, resulted in significant injury and harm to civilians or police. But other cities, other states might not be so lucky. As Trump almost certainly seeks to expand his operations in the coming weeks and months to New York or perhaps Chicago, Democratic governors likely to find themselves in the crosshairs would be well-advised to begin preparing now, while their National Guard is still under their command and control. Make no mistake, America: Our mettle and our intestinal fortitude are about to be tested. We hold out hope that the Supreme Court will issue an emergency ruling telling the president he has exceeded his powers. Especially if people start to die. This would put some daylight between what Trump is trying to pull and his actual official powers. If he then persists in issuing orders to the military, which the court has declared illegal, you can rest assured the military has ways, largely unfamiliar to civilians, to maintain 'good order and discipline' in its ranks. Arresting a superior officer (including a commander-in-chief) may be contemplated where his or her actions warrant such. Especially when that becomes necessary to fulfill their sacred oath to 'protect and defend the Constitution.' Semper fi. Brett Wagner, now retired, served as a professor of national security decision making for the U.S. Naval War College and adjunct fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. J. Holmes Armstead, now retired, served as a professor of strategy and international law at the U.S. Naval War College and as a judge advocate general, inspector general and civil affairs officer in the U.S. Army, Army Reserves and National Guard.
The Hill
3 hours ago
- The Hill
Deportation nation: Trump 2.0 is gunning for new records in immigration prosecutions
By March 2025 — in just the second full month of President Trump's second term — the number of criminal immigration prosecutions jumped by 36 percent over the month prior, reaching 4,550 charges per month. According to TRAC, this marks the sharpest monthly increase in recent years. The first shot has been fired. After years of 'catch and release,' the deportation machine is running again at full steam, and Southern states have become the main battleground. From Texas to Florida, sheriffs are bracing for full jails, and everyone knows this is just the beginning. Unlike Biden's slow-moving policy, Trump's forces are moving fast — 70 percent of all cases are now initiated by Customs and Border Protection. Back in 2019, the number peaked at 10,000 per month. He was already halfway back to that level in just his second full month in office. What happens by fall? Republicans have tasted blood. Governors are already demanding more funding. The return of priority enforcement and pressure on ICE to deliver faster results with less bureaucracy has pushed the system into high gear — 36 percent growth in just one month. The Trump administration is building up a new pressure system. Beyond simply reviving its old rhetoric on illegal immigration enforcement, it is building a more aggressive structure, handing real power to field-level actors. The fact that 70 percent of cases are being opened by CBP, not ICE, shows how federal power is being pushed down to those counties with the most hardline politics. The new rule is already clear: less paper, please, and pass the handcuffs. At the same time, border crossings fell to just 7,181 in March — a 95 percent drop compared to the same month last year. While some say it's seasonal, the sharp rise in prosecutions seems to be acting as a strong warning. Meanwhile, ICE is quietly speeding up deportations, processing hundreds of thousands of migrants through faster removals in recent months, showing how the system is working behind the scenes to reduce border crossings. In practice, this means that counties are once again becoming testing grounds, where new rules come as a blank check. Governors in Texas, Florida, and Louisiana are pushing to expand jurisdiction. Sheriffs are rebuilding the jail-to-deportation pipeline. Even minor charges are turning into ICE cases. This mechanism is familiar to those who remember 2018 and 2019, but this time it started from day one and has been moving even faster. As Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) put it: 'Our National Guard is helping ICE with arrests and deportations.' That's the level of coordination now at play. This is less a return to immigration policy and more a rush into pre-conflict mode. If this pace continues, we could hit 10,000 prosecutions per month by fall. For now, they are testing the limits. The real goal is not law enforcement, but a broad demonstration of strength. America has restarted a machine that works not just for justice but also for power. First blood is a test — a signal of how ready the system is to obey. And if the course stays unchanged, a full-scale wave of deportations is coming. Artem Kolisnichenko writes on crime, immigration, and border policy across the American South and Southwest.
