Key facts
- An immigrant from El Salvador, Edwin Lopez-Cornejo, 41, died on August 1 at a New Jersey ICE detention center.
- His death is the 22nd recorded fatality in ICE custody this year.
- Lopez-Cornejo was arrested by ICE on June 18 and sent to Delaney Hall.
- Detainees at Delaney Hall had previously organized hunger and labor strikes due to alleged issues.
- Newark Mayor Ras J Baraka called for the closure of the facility.
An immigrant from El Salvador, Edwin Lopez-Cornejo, 41, died on August 1 at the Delaney Hall detention facility in New Jersey after suffering an unspecified medical emergency, the Department of Homeland Security announced Monday. This marks the 22nd death in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody this year, according to agency data.
Lopez-Cornejo, who had been in the U.S. since 2006, was arrested by ICE agents on June 18 and detained while awaiting deportation. His mother, Maria Cornejo, expressed her devastation, stating she could not visit him and that he missed seeing his daughter. She recounted his efforts to show his work permit to arresting officers.
Delaney Hall has recently faced scrutiny and protests due to allegations of mistreatment, including physical abuse by guards and spoiled food. These concerns led to a hunger and labor strike by at least 300 detainees in late May, with women in a separate unit later joining with their own demands for facility improvements and the release of vulnerable detainees.
Following the announcement of Lopez-Cornejo's death, Newark Mayor Ras J Baraka called for the closure of Delaney Hall, citing a lack of accountability and oversight from ICE and its contractor, GEO Group. He emphasized the need for transparency and demanded answers regarding the repeated failures leading to such tragedies.