Editor’s Note (Updated June 30, 7:30 PM ET):
Since this article was initially published at 6:00 PM ET on June 30 (and finalized June 29th at 11 pm), two additional deaths in ICE custody have been confirmed, bringing the 2025 total to at least 13. This already exceeds the number of deaths recorded for the entire year of 2024. The systemic failures described in this piece are not only ongoing—they are accelerating.
On June 23, 2025, Johnny Noviello died in ICE custody. He was a Canadian citizen, a lawful permanent U.S. resident, and a 49-year-old man with epilepsy. He had no active criminal convictions. His family had ensured that ICE knew about his condition and had access to his medication.
He was arrested in May. By June, he was dead.
ICE says he was found unresponsive at the Federal Detention Center in downtown Miami and was pronounced dead shortly after failed CPR attempts. They’ve promised an investigation, but they haven’t released a cause of death. They’ve issued no apology. They’ve shown no urgency.
He is the tenth person to die in ICE custody this year. Four of those deaths happened in Florida alone. In other cases, detainees have died of COVID, heart failure, untreated seizures, or medical neglect during transport. One man, Abelardo Avellaneda-Delgado, age 68, died in a van during transport, despite documented heart issues and no clearance for travel. His autopsy showed a ruptured aorta.
These are not rare outliers. These are systemic failures, and still, the only solution the U.S. government is offering is more detention beds.
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And Still, They’re Building Tents in the Everglades
As the death toll rises, Florida—backed by FEMA funds and coordinated by DHS—is building a 5,000-bed detention camp in the Everglades, just a 45-mile drive from the facility where Noviello died. An hour’s drive from a sealed federal facility where a man with epilepsy died in custody, they are constructing an open-air tent city in the swamp, where thousands more will be held in even harsher, more dangerous conditions.
Alligator Alcatraz, as locals have dubbed it, is being constructed at the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport in the Everglades, approximately 45 miles west of Miami, off U.S. Highway 41. It’s a sprawling compound of tents and trailers set on a remote, flood-prone airstrip.
The temperature in the Everglades in July regularly hits 95°F+, with humidity pushing the heat index over 110°F. Mosquitoes breed by the billions in this region, many of which are carriers of dengue, Zika, and West Nile viruses. Emergency medical services are distant. Wildlife, including alligators, pythons, venomous snakes, and fire ants, roam the area.
And yet, ICE plans to detain migrants there, in canvas tents.
There is no indication of air conditioning, no released plan for heatstroke response, and no assurances about mosquito control or safe water. Wildlife is literally being pitched as a security feature, with Florida officials referencing gators and snakes as “natural deterrents.”
This is not a temporary solution. This is a policy of cruelty scaled up. And we’re paying for it with FEMA funds, money that should be used to respond to hurricanes and disasters, not to imprison people in inhumane conditions. When lawsuits arise—and they will— taxpayer dollars will be used to settle them.
Meanwhile, We’re Cutting Oversight and Signing Secret Deals
While ICE and Florida expand detention infrastructure, the federal government is skipping oversight entirely. ICE has issued no-bid contracts to private prison corporations like CoreCivic and GEO Group, massive GOP donors with long records of detainee abuse and neglect.
Previously we published a series on the deportation and detention system, including these private corporations. See some of that reporting here:
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These contracts, awarded under the justification of “compelling urgency,” bypass normal federal procurement rules. The irony is rich. Trump announced the detention surge in November 2024 and signed the executive order to launch the project in January. ICE had five full months to follow the legal and competitive bidding processes.
Instead, they waited, then declared a crisis to justify secrecy, accelerate construction, and enrich political allies.
It’s not an emergency. It’s a playbook.
ICE’s Data Is Designed to Obscure, Not Inform
ICE does not publish clear, consistent, or comprehensive data on:
Who is detained
Why they’re detained
Where they are
What happens to them after deportation or release
The data that does exist paints a damning picture. CBS News reported earlier this month that 47% of ICE detainees have no criminal record. Investigations by The Guardian, Cato Institute, and CNN show that 60–90% of detainees have no non-immigration-related charges. Fewer than 7% have convictions for violent crimes.
The administration’s claims that they are targeting gang members, violent criminals, and dangerous people do not match the data.
At the same time, ICE continues to detain green card holders, legal visa holders, and even U.S. citizens. Despite guidance on conducting investigation techniques and standards, reports emerge daily of people being detained without proper or any procedure, including an opportunity to call a lawyer, stand before a judge, or even inform their family.
ICE can and has claimed people were “released” or “removed” without proof. Deportees sent to third countries often disappear without follow-up, legal assistance, or even confirmation that they survived the journey. There is no official record of whether they are alive.
We simply don’t know.
See our reporting on third country detention here:
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This Isn’t Chaos. This Is the Blueprint.
This is not a broken system. It’s a functioning machine, a system that:
Over-detains the innocent
Outsources accountability
Hides deaths and disappearances
Builds infrastructure faster than it builds oversight
When people die, we build more tents. When detainees vanish, we shrug. When the system fails, we expand it with federal dollars and zero transparency.
This is not law enforcement. This is state-sponsored disappearance disguised as immigration control.
Johnny Noviello should be alive. Instead, we are filling tents in a swamp while his family waits for answers that may never come.
What You Can Do
This system will not fix itself. But it can be challenged. And you can help.
Call Your Members of Congress
Use the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 to be connected directly to your representatives.
Sample Script:
“Hi, my name is [Your Name], and I’m a constituent from [Your City/ZIP].
I’m calling to demand that Congress investigate deaths in ICE custody, stop the expansion of detention camps like Alligator Alcatraz, and block no-bid contracts that fuel human rights abuses.
I want my representative to support full transparency, independent oversight, and an end to detention of non-criminal immigrants.
We should be investing in alternatives to detention, not expanding a system that disappears people.”
Support Groups Doing the Work
These organizations are leading the fight for accountability, human rights, and migrant justice:
Detention Watch Network – detentionwatchnetwork.org
Freedom for Immigrants – freedomforimmigrants.org
RAICES – raicestexas.org
American Immigration Council – americanimmigrationcouncil.org
Donate, volunteer, amplify their work, or use their resources to get more informed.
Share the Story
The more people know, the harder it is for this system to operate in silence.
Share this piece. Talk about Johnny Noviello. Talk about Alligator Alcatraz. Talk about what’s happening right now, just miles from Miami, just days after another preventable death.
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Bibliography:
“US Immigration Detention Death Toll Rises to 13 as More Detainees Die in Custody.” The Guardian, June 30, 2025.
Montoya-Galvez, Camilo. “Florida to Receive Federal Funds to Build Immigration Detention Sites, Including ‘Alligator Alcatraz,’ Noem Says.” CBS News, June 24, 2025.
Hesson, Ted. “Florida Plans ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ Migrant Detention Center.” Reuters, June 25, 2025.
Montoya-Galvez, Camilo. “Florida Builds ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ for ICE Detainees in Everglades.” Washington Post, June 24, 2025.
“Florida’s ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ Detention Center Sparks Major Concern Among Activists as Construction Begins. Here’s What to Know.” Time, June 25, 2025.
“Florida Greenlights ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ to House ICE Detainees Among Dangerous Everglades Wildlife.” People, June 25, 2025.
“Canadian Citizen Dies in ICE Custody in Florida Detention Center.” People, June 27, 2025.
Ables, Kelsey. “Canadian Citizen Dies in ICE Custody; Ottawa ‘Urgently Seeking’ Information.” Washington Post, June 27, 2025.
“Canadian National in ICE Custody Passes Away.” ICE.gov, June 23, 2025.
“Trump Administration Using No‑Bid Contracts, Boosting Big Firms, to Get More ICE Detention Beds.” PBS NewsHour, June 2025.
“Takeaways from AP’s reporting on shuttered prisons, mass deportation push and no-bid contracts.” AP News, June 2025.
“Canadian Dies in ICE Custody. What We Know So Far.” YouTube (ABC News), June 2025.
“Alligator Alcatraz” Detention Centre Funded by Florida Hurricane Money? Al Jazeera, June 27, 2025.
“For‑Profit Immigration Detention Expands as Trump Accelerates His Deportation Plans.” SourceNM, April 11, 2025.
“Migrant Bodies as Commodities.” The Flaw, April 2025.
Noviello's family should sue the shit out of Noem, ICE and the US government. This is horrifying. BTW, a rupture aorta is excruciatingly painful. They should have driven this man to an ER immediately!
I didn’t know it was possible. Detention nation is possible.