A Canadian man detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has died in custody, according to the agency.
The cause of death is currently under investigation. He was identified as 49-year-old Johnny Noviello in a news release on Wednesday. He was being held in Miami at the Bureau of Prisons Federal Detention Center pending removal proceedings, the release said, when he was found unresponsive on the afternoon of June 23.
“Medical staff responded immediately and began administering cardiopulmonary resuscitation, automated external defibrillator shock and called 911,” per the release.
He was pronounced dead just after 1:30 p.m. on June 23 by the Miami Fire Rescue Department.
According to the agency, Noviello entered the U.S. with a legal visa in 1988. He became a permanent resident in 1991. However, he was convicted of racketeering, drug trafficking, and the unlawful use of a two-way communication device to facilitate the commission of a crime in Florida in 2023. He was sentenced to 12 months in prison.
In May, he was arrested by ICE at the Florida Department of Corrections Probation office. He was issued a notice to appear in court and charged with removability. The agency cited that the removal charge was in relation to Noviello “having been convicted of a violation of (or a conspiracy or attempt to violate) any law or regulation of a State, the United States, or a foreign country, relating to a controlled substance.”
According to the American Immigration Council
, “Noncitizens with lawful status may become removable for many reasons, such as immigration fraud, certain criminal convictions, national security, or false claims to U.S. citizenship.”
An article published in
2017 in The Daytona Beach News-Journal
shows a man identified with the same name as Noviello, who was charged “with the sale or delivery of oxycodone, conspiracy to sell or deliver methadone, conspiracy to traffic hydromorphone and unlawful use of a two-way communication device.”
ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations “provided telephone notification of the death to the Consulate of Canada,” according to the news release.
Global Affairs Canada received National Post’s request for a comment, but did not immediately respond.
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