By Steve Neavling
Federal officials are investigating the death of a Canadian man who died in immigration custody this week at a federal detention facility in Miami.
Johnny Noviello, 49, was found unresponsive Monday afternoon at the Bureau of Prisons’ Federal Detention Center, according to ICE, The New York Times reports. Detention staff attempted CPR and used a defibrillator before calling emergency responders. Miami Fire Rescue pronounced him dead at 1:36 p.m.
The Canadian consulate was notified, ICE said, but has not commented publicly.
Noviello entered the U.S. in 1988 and became a lawful permanent resident three years later. In 2023, he was convicted of racketeering and drug trafficking in Volusia County and sentenced to one year in prison.
Public records show Noviello and his father were previously charged in 2017 with selling opioids at an auto dealership in Daytona Beach.
ICE took Noviello into custody on May 15 at a state probation office, citing his drug convictions as grounds for deportation.
He is the tenth person to die in ICE custody in 2025 and the fourth in Florida, according to agency records.
The death comes amid a rise in immigration enforcement under President Donald Trump, whose administration has expanded arrests in public spaces and vowed to remove millions of immigrants.
