Article – The disturbing phone call came on a Tuesday evening. A Canadian family learned their loved one had died while in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody. This wasn’t just another statistic in America’s complex detention system – it was Martin Dubois, a 43-year-old software developer from Laval, Quebec.
I’ve spent the last three weeks piecing together what happened to Dubois, who died on July 18th at the Stewart Detention Center in Georgia. His story reveals troubling gaps in medical care for detainees with pre-existing conditions and raises serious questions about cross-border detention protocols.
“My brother told them repeatedly about his heart condition,” said Elise Dubois, Martin’s sister. “They took his medication during processing and never returned it.”
Court records show Dubois had traveled to Florida for a conference in early July. A minor visa discrepancy led to his detention when he attempted to extend his stay by three days. What should have been a bureaucratic hiccup became a death sentence.
The preliminary ICE mortality review, which I obtained through a Freedom of Information request, confirms Dubois had disclosed his cardiac arrhythmia during intake screening on July 5th. The report indicates his prescription medication was “logged but not dispensed” due to what officials called a “processing delay.”
Dr. Josée Archambault, a cardiologist at McGill University Health Centre who reviewed the documents at my request, found the timeline deeply concerning. “Interrupting established cardiac medication regimens can trigger potentially fatal complications within days,” she explained.
ICE’s own detention standards require continuity of care for detainees with chronic conditions. The agency’s Performance-Based National Detention Standards state facilities must provide “medically necessary and appropriate medical, dental, and mental health care.”
Yet Dubois’s experience reflects a pattern of medical neglect documented by the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General. Their 2023 report identified “significant deficiencies” in medical care at multiple ICE facilities, including Stewart.
“They’re designed as short-term holding facilities but function as medium-term prisons without adequate medical infrastructure,” said Ricardo Martinez, senior counsel at the National Immigrant Justice Center.
I reviewed visitor logs and interviewed three detainees who knew Dubois. All described him requesting medical attention at least six times in the thirteen days before his death. Facility records confirm only two documented visits to the medical unit.
On July 17th, surveillance footage shows Dubois collapsing in a common area. Medical staff administered emergency care, but he was pronounced dead shortly after midnight on July 18th. The preliminary cause of death: cardiac arrest.
Canadian consular officials in Atlanta confirmed they weren’t notified of Dubois’s detention until July 12th – a week after he was taken into custody. Under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, notification should occur “without delay.”
“This represents a serious failure of diplomatic protocol,” said Florence Bergeron, former Canadian consul general in Atlanta. “Early consular access might have facilitated medication verification or expedited release on humanitarian grounds.”
The Stewart Detention Center, operated by private contractor CoreCivic, has faced scrutiny before. A 2022 class-action lawsuit alleged systematic medical neglect at the facility. The case documented instances where detainees with chronic conditions experienced dangerous interruptions in medication.
CoreCivic spokesperson Daniel Miller responded to my inquiries with a statement: “We are committed to providing high-quality medical care to those in our custody and are cooperating fully with investigations into this unfortunate incident.”
ICE statistics reveal that Dubois was the third detainee to die in the agency’s custody this year, and the first Canadian since 2019. Last year, the agency reported eight deaths across its detention network.
When I visited the Stewart facility last week, I observed a remote compound surrounded by pine forests, housing approximately 1,900 detainees. The medical unit consists of just eight beds serving the entire population.
“My brother shouldn’t have been there in the first place,” Elise Dubois told me. “And he certainly shouldn’t have died for wanting to spend three extra days at a conference.”
The family has filed a wrongful death claim against ICE and CoreCivic. Their attorney, Michelle Wong of the Border Rights Collective, believes the case illustrates broader systemic issues.
“What happened to Mr. Dubois represents the dangerous intersection of immigration enforcement and inadequate medical care,” Wong said. “When detention becomes a death sentence for non-violent visa issues, we must question the entire system.”
Canadian embassy officials in Washington confirmed they’re seeking “full transparency” regarding the circumstances of Dubois’s death. Global Affairs Canada has requested a comprehensive review of medical protocols for Canadian citizens in ICE custody.
As Martin Dubois’s body makes its journey home to Quebec, his case adds new urgency to long-standing calls for detention reform. For the Dubois family, however, systemic change comes too late.
“We trusted that being Canadian meant something,” Elise said, her voice breaking during our final interview. “That basic human dignity would be respected. We were wrong.”
