A Canadian citizen died while in custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement earlier this week, the agency says.
Johnny Noviello, 49, died in a detention centre in Florida on Monday, an ICE news release says.
The cause of death is unknown and is under investigation, according to the release.
Despite having Canadian citizenship, Noviello had been in the U.S. since 1988 and became a lawful permanent resident in 1991, the release says.
In 2023, he was convicted of a number of offences — including racketeering and drug trafficking — and had been sentenced to 12 months in prison.
ICE agents arrested Noviello in May and he was being detained “pending removal proceedings,” the agency’s news release said.
The news release said the Canadian consulate had been notified. CBC News has reached out to Global Affairs Canada for comment.
Noviello’s death comes as ICE agents have been making sweeping arrests across the United States.
Earlier this year, U.S. President Donald Trump issued a raft of executive orders that aim to clamp down on illegal immigration and advance his goal of deporting millions of immigrants in the U.S. illegally.
Stephen Miller, White House deputy chief of staff and the main architect of Trump’s immigration policies, has pushed ICE to aim for at least 3,000 arrests a day, up from about 650 a day during the first five months of Trump’s second term.
‘That place breaks you’: Canadian woman describes 11 days in ICE custody
Trump himself has called on ICE officials “to do all in their power to achieve the very important goal of delivering the single largest mass deportation program in history.”
The immigration crackdown sparked massive protests in Los Angeles earlier this month. Trump responded to the demonstrations by ordering troops into the city, drawing the ire of California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Noviello isn’t the only Canadian to have been arrested in the U.S. since the ICE sweeps began.
Jasmine Mooney from B.C. was arrested and held for nearly two weeks after trying to get a work visa renewed. She was released and returned to Canada in mid-March.
