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A detainee who had been held at a Newark, N.J., Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility has died, according to multiple officials.
In a statement obtained by The Hill’s sister network NewsNation, ICE said that a 41-year-old Salvadoran migrant named Edwin Lopez-Cornejo who had been detained at the Delaney Hall Detention Facility “was pronounced deceased Aug. 1 by medical personnel at University Hospital in Newark, New Jersey.”
The agency said in their statement that the migrant “experienced a medical emergency while in ICE custody” and that “the official cause of death remains pending further medical examination.”
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka (D) said in a statement Monday that “yet another family is forced to endure the unimaginable loss of a loved one while in custody at Delaney Hall.”
“The death of Edwin Jovanny Lopez Cornejo is a heartbreaking reminder of the consequences of a facility that has operated for far too long without adequate oversight, accountability or transparency,” Baraka added in the statement, which was posted on the social platform X.
New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill (D) also weighed in on the death, saying she was “deeply disturbed to hear” about it Monday night on X.
“My heart is with the individual’s loved ones, who deserve answers about what happened. My administration is working with our Congressional delegation to gather all the facts surrounding this death,” she added.
Two months ago, New Jersey sued the private operator of Delaney Hall, alleging that the state health department was not allowed to inspect the facility as it faced accusations of unclean conditions and detainees not being treated well.
The lawsuit in Essex County Superior Court requested a judge grant the New Jersey Department of Health “immediate entry” into Delaney Hall, which is owned and operated by The GEO Group, to be fully inspected.
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