Read our feature article on combating and resisting ICE terror here.
A Haitian immigrant was murdered through medical neglect by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) while in their custody on March 2.
Emmanuel Damas, 56-years-old, was kidnapped by ICE in September 2025. He was held in Florence Correctional Center in Central Arizona, even after his asylum claim was denied.
For the last month of his life, Damas complained to medical workers of an increasingly painful tooth infection that turned fatal. Damas was routinely denied medical care, never being allowed to see a dentist.
Damas is just one of 11 detainees that have been murdered in ICE custody this year alone, putting 2026 on track to be the deadliest year for ICE detainees since the agency’s founding in 2003. The current rate outpaces that of 2025, the deadliest year for ICE detainees on record, during which a total of 32 people were murdered by ICE while in their custody.
Jean Wilson Brutus, another immigrant from Haiti who was 41 years old, suffered a “mysterious death” in late January shortly after his apprehension in Newark, New Jersey, according to his family.
Nurul Amin Shah Alam, 56, a blind man who had escaped the Rohingya genocide in Myanmar was murdered by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on February 19. After Alam had been released from custody upon posting bail, Border Patrol dropped him off five miles from his home in record freezing temperatures in Buffalo, New York. He was found dead on the side of the road on February 24 after being reported missing.
Geraldo Lunas Campos, a 55-year-old Cuban man, was strangled to death by ICE while handcuffed on January 3. At the time of his murder, Campos was being held at the Camp East Montana detention facility located on Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas. The El Paso Medical Examiner’s office ruled his death a homicide.
The cases of other detainees who have died in ICE detention during 2026 reflect similar patterns of medical neglect, violence, and degrading conditions.
Detainees in ICE concentration camps continue to report dangerous conditions due to overcrowding, rushed construction, and a lack of basic necessities. On March 4, a measles outbreak was confirmed at the Camp East Montana facility, with at least 14 prisoners contracting the preventable disease. Another 112 have been isolated due to being potentially infected.
In response to these torturous conditions, detainees have rebelled and participated in hunger strikes at detention centers across the country. These include the Dilley detention center in Texas, “Alligator Alcatraz” camp in Florida, the “Louisiana Lockup” at the infamous Angola prison, and the Delaney Hall ICE detention facility in Newark, New Jersey.
Image: ICE detention facility opened up by the Dallas, Texas office. Credit: Defense Visual Information Distribution Service.
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