OTTAWA — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said Thursday that a 49-year-old Canadian has died while in its custody.
A detainee death notice from the agency, commonly known as ICE, said that Johnny Noviello was pronounced dead by the Miami Fire Rescue Department at 1:36 p.m. on June 23.
The agency said he was found unresponsive at 12:54 p.m. at a federal detention centre where he was being held pending deportation proceedings. Medical staff attempted CPR and defibrillation but were unsuccessful, the agency said.
The cause of death remains under investigation, ICE said.
Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand offered condolences and said Ottawa was notified Thursday about the death.
"Canadian consular officials are urgently seeking more information from U.S. officials," she wrote on the social media platform X.
ICE reports Noviello was arrested on May 15 at a Florida probation office and charged with removal for violating U.S. drug laws.
He'd previously been convicted of racketeering and trafficking opioids in October 2023 and was sentenced to one year in prison, the agency said.
Noviello had been in the U.S. since January 1988 and became a legal permanent resident in October 1991.
The U.S. Congress requires ICE to publish reports on all in-custody deaths within 90 days of such incidents. Ten such reports have been published in ICE's current fiscal year, which began on Oct. 1, 2024.
— With files from Dylan Robertson
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 26, 2025.
David Baxter, The Canadian Press
