Canadian national awaiting deportation dies in Miami detention center
June 27 (UPI) -- Canadian officials are "urgently seeking more information" after one of their citizens died while in a detention center in Miami pending deporation after being convicted of a felony in 2023.
Johnny Noviello, 49, was pronounced deceased by the Miami Fire Rescue Department at 1:36 p.m. Monday at the Federal Detention Center in downtown Miami, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said Wednesday in a news release. The cause of death is still under investigation.
The detention center, which houses individuals awaiting trial or serving sentences for federal crimes, in February was contracted to hold immigration detainees in four units.
Daniel Leising, a lawyer who represented Noviello in the 2023 racketeering case, told the Miami Herald he was told by family members that Noviello had epilepsy and was on seizure medication.
Noviello is the 10th person to die in ICE custody during fiscal year 2025, which runs from October, according to the agency's data. There have been four deaths in Florida since then.
Medical staff administered cardiopulmonary resuscitation and automated external defibrillator shock. Noviello was pronounced dead by the Miami Fire Rescue Department about half an hour after he was found.
"Canadian consular officials are urgently seeking more information from US officials," Foreign Minister Anita Anand posted Thursday on X. "I offer my sincere condolences to the family. In order to respect the family's privacy, further details will not be provided at this time."
Noviello was 10 years old when he moved from Canada to Daytona Beach, Fla., and gained legal visa status on Jan. 2, 1988. He became a legal permanent resident on Ovt 24, 1991.
In 2017, he and his father were arrested and charged with selling drugs out of their auto shop.
On Oct. 23, 2023, he was convicted of the charges including racketeering and drug trafficking in Volusia County in Florida, ICE said. He was sentenced to 12 months in prison.
He served about four months in county jail, was released on community control for a year and then placed on probation in February. Noviello had no prior charges and had not violated his probation.
The federal government can revoke green cards and deport them for committing certain crimes, including drug trafficking and other serious felonies.
On May 15, he was arrested at an ICE probation office, was issued a notice to appear and charged with "removability" because of the controlled substance-related conviction, according to ICE.
The Canadian consulate was notified of the man's death, as was Congress, nongovernmental organization stakeholders and the media.
"ICE remains committed to ensuring that all those in its custody reside in safe, secure, and humane environments," ICE said in a news release. "Comprehensive medical care is provided from the moment individuals arrive and throughout the entirety of their stay.
"At no time during detention is a detained illegal alien denied emergent care."
Leising said his client "was just working, nothing out of the ordinary, no violations, nothing else. There was nothing on my mind that would've created any circumstance where Johnny Noviello would have been a danger to anyone."
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