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Noviello was attended to by medical staff, but died the same day. The cause of death remains under investigation.

According to ICE, Noviello obtained permanent residency in the U.S. in 1991. More than 30 years later, in 2023, he was convicted of a number of offences, including drug trafficking and racketeering, and sentenced to 12 months in prison.

In May, Noviello was arrested by ICE at a local probation office and charged with removability on the grounds of his prior conviction. He was awaiting removal from the United States at the time of his death, the agency says.

ICE says it notified the Canadian consulate of Noviello’s death by telephone. 

In released to social media on Thursday evening, Canada’s foreign affairs minister, Anita Anand, said consular officials are “urgently” seeking additional information from the U.S. government after being informed earlier in the day of Noviello’s death.

She offered her “sincere condolences” to Noviello’s family.

“In order to respect the family’s privacy, further details will not be provided at this time,” the statement reads.

Noviello’s former defence lawyer, Daniel Liesing, says he was shocked to hear of his client’s passing. 

“I’ve seen so many horrible stories in the media regarding these detentions and deportations and it rattled me to see this happen to someone I’d helped,â€� he told the Star. “(It’s) a terribly sad story. Johnny was 49, I’m 48.â€�

Liesing said that when Noviello, who lived with epilepsy, was sentenced in 2023, he’d made arrangements to ensure his client received daily medication. “So that his health wouldn’t be jeopardized while incarcerated,” he said.

After his release, Noviello had no violations of his parole. While Liesing knew his client stood to be deported after being convicted, he was “still surprisedâ€� to hear of Noviello’s detention in May.

“This current government has made it a priority to deport people regardless of status,â€� Liesing said. “I haven’t seen (such) aggressive actions in my nearly 23 years in the practice of criminal law.”

Noviello isn’t the first Canadian detained since the onset of sweeping raids by U.S. immigration officials under the Trump administration. 

In March, British Columbia resident Jasmine Mooney was detained at the Mexico border while trying to get a work visa renewed. She was released and returned to Canada after two weeks in custody.

Vicki Gaubeca, associate director of U.S. Human Rights Watch, said the Trump administration has stepped up immigration enforcement against foreign nationals who were not previously priorities for removals.

“There is definitely more people detained than they have capacity for,” Gaubeca, who specializes in immigration and border policy, told the Star on Thursday. “We’re seeing a lot of overcrowding (and) worsening the conditions.â€� 

If a U.S. immigrant has a criminal conviction, they can have their permanent resident status revoked, said J.J. Mulligan, a staff lawyer at University of California Davis’s immigration law clinic. Not all foreign nationals due for removal are held in custody, said Mulligan, but some drug-related offences do trigger mandatory detention.

There are very few Canadians undocumented or held in immigration detention in the U.S., he continued, but for those behind bars, access to health care varies from facility to facility.

“In the U.S., the policy is generally deterrent,� Mulligan said. “When you are detaining someone or when someone enters the U.S., you try to make it as hard, as ugly and as difficult you can, so that more people don’t want to come.�

A detailing the circumstances of Noviello’s death must be made publicly available within 90 days under U.S. policy.