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Second detainee dies after being held at Delaney Hall ICE detention center
By
Michael Sol Warren
and
Arya Sundaram
Published Aug 3, 2026
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Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images
By
Michael Sol Warren
and
Arya Sundaram
Published Aug 3, 2026
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A man who had been detained at the federal Delaney Hall immigration detention center in Newark died Saturday, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and his family.
Edwin Jovanny Lopez Cornejo, whom ICE identified as 41, was taken to University Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead, according to ICE.
In an interview with Movimiento Cosecha, an immigration advocacy group, his mother, Maria Cornejo, said hospital staff — not ICE— informed her that her son had died. U.S. Rep. Rob Menendez said ICE officials told him Cornejo arrived at the hospital around 2:40 p.m. and was pronounced dead at 3:24 p.m.
ICE identified Lopez Cornejo as a citizen of El Salvador. Kathy O'Leary, the New Jersey coordinator for Pax Christi, said he had lived in Plainfield for about 20 years.
Late Monday, ICE said Lopez Cornejo experienced a medical emergency while in custody and that GEO staff and medical personnel responded and called 911. The agency said the official cause of death remains pending.
Maria Cornejo said her son had been prescribed medication for diabetes, high blood pressure and seizures. She said she believes he was not receiving those medications while detained for more than six weeks.
ICE said Lopez Cornejo received proper medical care, including his prescribed medication, while in custody.
Menendez said ICE officials told him Cornejo complained Saturday afternoon of dizziness and fatigue while in the facility's cafeteria before walking to the medical unit, where he collapsed. According to Menendez, ICE said staff began CPR before emergency responders arrived about 37 minutes after the 911 call. Gothamist could not independently verify ICE's account.
"That is one of the reasons that I believe caused the death of my son, the negligence — that he wasn't given his medication that he had to take," Maria Cornejo said during the Movimiento Cosecha interview.
ICE said it notified Lopez Cornejo's next of kin and the Salvadoran consulate after his death. Maria Cornejo, however, in the Monday interview with Movimiento Cosecha, said that she had not heard from ICE.
According to ICE, Lopez Cornejo was first arrested by U.S. Border Patrol after entering the United States without inspection in 2006. The agency said an immigration judge ordered him removed later that year, that he was deported to El Salvador and that he later reentered the United States.
ICE said he was arrested in Plainfield on June 18 and detained at Delaney Hall pending removal. His mother said her son, the father of a 12-year-old daughter, was detained outside his home as he headed to work.
Cornejo is the second detainee to die after being held at Delaney Hall since the center reopened in May 2025, following the death of Jean Wilson Brutus, 41, in December after a medical emergency.
Menendez also said ICE officials told him another person processed through Delaney Hall died after suffering a medical emergency during intake and being released from ICE custody roughly two weeks ago. Gothamist has not independently confirmed that death.
"What I want is justice," Maria Cornejo said. "I don't want my son's death to go unanswered… If justice isn't served, they'll just keep doing this, and there's no telling how many more people in this country we might lose."
ICE has reported 22 deaths in custody this year. Last year, 33 people died in the agency's custody, the highest annual total in more than two decades, according to the National Immigration Project.
A Gothamist investigation in June found more than 70 detainees have filed federal lawsuits alleging medical neglect and deficiencies at Delaney Hall, including more than 30 who claim they were denied prescribed medication for chronic conditions such as asthma, epilepsy, diabetes and cancer.
The concerns about medical care at Delaney Hall emerged in court filings as early as May 2025, when the facility reopened, and have mounted in recent months.
Maria Cornejo said the last time she spoke with her son was Friday, when he told her he felt ill and that part of his face and right hand had gone numb. He also told her he had a medical consultation that day and that medical staff planned to perform additional tests, though he did not know when they would occur, she said.
Cornejo's family members, including his mother and aunt Sebastiana Cornejo, said they were never allowed to visit him while he was detained. They said they submitted a request to visit him but were never approved before he died.
Gov. Mikie Sherrill said Monday she was "deeply disturbed" by the death and said her administration was working with New Jersey's congressional delegation to gather more information while continuing efforts to inspect Delaney Hall.
"I have long opposed the use of private, for-profit prisons operating in a space that should be reserved for government,” Sherrill said in a statement. “Corporations should not have the right to monetize imprisoning people while avoiding public accountability. This is why we are fighting to close Delaney Hall, and why we will continue using every tool available to stop new private detention facilities — like the proposed facility in Roxbury — from opening their doors."
Immigration advocates said Cornejo's death underscores their calls to close Delaney Hall and other ICE detention centers.
"This tragedy is another devastating result of the rampant inhumane conditions at Delaney Hall and detention centers across the country, including the routine denial of proper medical care, sanitary conditions, and food," Amol Sinha, executive director of the ACLU of New Jersey, said in a statement.
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Michael Sol Warren
Michael Sol Warren covers New Jersey for WNYC and Gothamist, and previously reported on issues around the Garden State for NJ Spotlight News and NJ Advance Media. He can be reached at [email protected].
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Arya Sundaram
Arya is a reporter covering race and justice. Got a tip? Email: [email protected] or reach Arya on Signal at 512-650-8767.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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