The Maricopa County Medical Examiner’s Office has released a cause of death for Emmanuel Damas, a 56-year-old man who died in ICE custody earlier this year.
In a report posted to its website, the medical examiner said Damas died from complications of necrotizing mediastinitis — a condition that originates from oral and neck infections. The report also said Damas suffered severe tooth decay and periodontal disease.
The findings are preliminary and a full report has not been published, according to the medical examiner.
Damas, a Haitian asylum seeker, died in early March after spending months at a detention center in Florence. His family has called for an investigation into his death.
“I just want people to say, ‘I can do better than this,’” Damas’s brother, Presly Nelson, told AZPM in March.
“While they’re in (ICE) custody, give them the proper care until you send them back to their respective country, and that's all. I think that's not too much to ask,” he added.
Congressmembers Adelita Grijalva, Yassamin Ansari and Greg Stanton also demanded a probe in March. The lawmakers penned a letter to the Department of Homeland Security requesting Damas’s medical records, a medical examiner's report, and a timeline of complaints made to staff.
“To date, my office has not received the full records, transparency, or accountability that his family deserves,” Grijalva said in a statement Thursday.
‘I was in disbelief’##
Damas began complaining about tooth pain on Feb. 13, his brother told AZPM.
“My mother had told him, ‘Go to the nurse and so they could help you out,’ which he did. And I guess they kept giving him Ibuprofen or Tylenol, something for pain,” Nelson said in March.
But, Nelson said, his brother’s pain did not subside, and he continued to seek care for his toothache.
“And they didn't take him very seriously,” Nelson said.
As the days passed, Nelson said, his brother’s pain increased, spreading to his neck and impeding his speech. Damas was taken to a Scottsdale hospital on Feb. 19.
Damas’s family was permitted to visit him nine days after he arrived at the hospital, according to Nelson and the news release from ICE.
“When we (got) there, there was no life. And I was in disbelief, the condition that he was in,” Nelson said.
Damas died on March 2.
ICE has denied repeated allegations of medical neglect within the agency’s facilities. Four days after Damas’s death, the agency released a timeline of his medical treatment, which included ultrasounds and days spent on a ventilator.
“Comprehensive medical care is provided from the moment individuals arrive and throughout the entirety of their stay,” the news release said.
Deaths have surged in ICE facilities, however, according to the agency’s own data. In 2025, ICE recorded 33 deaths — the highest rate in years, marking a threefold increase from 2024, when 11 people died. So far in 2026, 18 people have died in ICE custody, including Damas.
