Canadian man who died in ICE custody reported health concerns weeks before death, agency says

Hamilton Spectator

23-07-2025

The cause of a Canadian man's death while in custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement last month remains unclear, even as the agency in a report Wednesday says it flagged the man over health concerns just weeks before.
Johnny Noviello, 49, was
found unresponsive on the afternoon of June 23
at the Federal Detention Center in Miami and later pronounced dead after being attended to by medical staff.
According to
an ICE report shared publicly
, Noviello underwent two evaluations earlier on June 8 and 9 at the request of a unit officer and a health administrator. The man, who had epilepsy, had already been diagnosed with 'unspecified convulsions and hypertension' and prescribed anticonvulsant and blood pressure medication by authorities shortly after being detained in May.
Noviello had been living in the U.S. for nearly four decades, with the ICE report noting he first came to the country as a visitor in 1988 and later becoming a permanent resident in October 1991.
In 2023, he was convicted of a number of offences, including drug trafficking and racketeering, and sentenced to 12 months in prison.
Two years later, in May of this year, Noviello was arrested by ICE at a local probation office and charged with removability on the grounds of his prior conviction. He was awaiting removal from the United States at the time of his death, the agency says.
During the first evaluation on June 8, a medical provider requested Noviello get a mental health referral after the man reported 'feeling sad and depressed' — although the ICE report notes Noviello refused to go to a medical clinic for the evaluation.
The next day, Noviello told another medical provider that he had not eaten in 'a while.' Though Noviello had normal vitals, the provider at the second evaluation noted that the patient had 'poor personal hygiene,' later discussing the importance of both self-hygiene and a proper diet with the patient.
Exactly two weeks later, the detention centre staff found Noviello unresponsive without a pulse and with low body temperature and blood sugar levels. He was later transferred to the care of City of Miami first responders, who declared Noviello dead after trying to revive him for 30 minutes.
Wednesday's report comes exactly a month after Noviello's death. Under U.S. policy, ICE had 90 days to publicly share details on the circumstances surrounding the death.
More coming.