Salvadoran man dies in ICE custody at New Jersey detention centre

Second Delaney Hall detainee death in eight months prompts calls to close facility, demands for answers.

A Salvadoran man detained at a New Jersey immigration facility has died, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has confirmed, in the second such death at the facility in less than a year.

Edwin Lopez-Cornejo, 41, died on Saturday at a Newark hospital after experiencing a medical emergency at the Delaney Hall detention facility, ICE said in a statement on Monday.

According to the agency, staff from GEO Group – the private contractor that runs the facility – along with medical personnel, responded and arranged for him to be taken to hospital. Officials have not yet determined an official cause of death.

ICE records show Lopez-Cornejo was first detained and deported after crossing into the US without authorisation in 2006. He returned to the country at a later point and was picked up again by agents in Plainfield, New Jersey, in mid-June this year, before being held at Delaney Hall under an order reviving his earlier deportation case.

He leaves behind a 12-year-old daughter, his family said.

Lopez-Cornejo had reportedly lived with diabetes, high blood pressure and seizures, and immigration advocates say he had been denied his medication while in detention. His mother, Maria Cornejo, appeared in a video posted to Facebook by advocacy groups, saying she had spoken with her son on Friday. He told her he was not feeling well and had lost feeling in his face and hand.

As word of his death spread, protesters gathered outside Delaney Hall on Monday to hold a vigil in his memory.

ICE maintains that everyone in its custody is screened for medical issues within hours of arrival, undergoes a fuller health check within two weeks, and has round-the-clock access to emergency treatment. The agency said Lopez-Cornejo had been properly cared for throughout his detention.

His death comes eight months after another detainee, Jean Wilson Brutus, 41, died at the same facility following a medical emergency in December.

Newark Mayor Ras Baraka said the death marked another painful moment for families connected to the facility. “In less than a year, yet another family is forced to endure the unimaginable loss of a loved one while in custody at Delaney Hall,” he said.

New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill also condemned the death, saying it was “another painful reminder of why Delaney Hall should be closed” and that her administration was working with the state’s congressional delegation “to gather all the facts surrounding this death”.

New Jersey Representative Rob Menendez said the death added to a pattern of concern over conditions at the facility. “We continue to hear about the medical conditions at Delaney Hall. We continue to hear about the inadequate care … which is why we keep showing up,” he said, adding that ICE and its contractors must be held accountable.

Delaney Hall reopened last year as part of a broader expansion of immigration detention under the administration of President Donald Trump.