A 56-year-old Haitian man died at an Arizona hospital Monday after spending months in immigration detention, with his family alleging that a tooth infection went untreated despite repeated complaints to medical staff.

Emmanuel Damas had been held at the Florence Correctional Center since September after his asylum application was denied. According to his brother Presly Nelson, Damas reported having a toothache to medical personnel in mid-February but was never sent to a dentist for treatment.

Nelson said he believes facility staff did not take his brother's medical complaints seriously, despite the treatable nature of dental infections. "As a country — I'm an American now — I think we can do better than that," Nelson said, adding that he would expect such deaths in countries with less healthcare access, not the United States.

Damas is among at least nine people who have died in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody this year. Earlier Wednesday, ICE announced the death of Mexican national Alberto Gutierrez-Reyes, who died February 27 at a California hospital after reporting chest pain and shortness of breath while in detention.

Chandler City Council member Christine Ellis, a registered nurse and Haitian American who was contacted by Damas' family, expressed shock at the circumstances. "As a medical person, I am absolutely appalled that there were medical-licensed people that were working there and allowed those things to happen," she said.

The Maricopa County Medical Examiner's Office has listed Damas' cause of death as pending. The Florence facility is operated by CoreCivic, a for-profit corrections company, which referred questions to ICE. The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to requests for comment.