NEW YORK, New York \u2013 Democratic Leader of the United States House of Representatives Hakeem Jeffries has joined immigration advocates and other elected officials in demanding the closure of a controversial US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility in Newark, New Jersey, following the third reported death there.<\/p>\n
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House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries speaks at a press conference about the Democratic agenda to rein in ICE. (Photo credit: Office of Congressman Hakeem Jeffries)ICE reported on August 3 that Edwin Lopez-Cornejo, a 41-year-old Salvadoran national detained at the Delaney Hall Detention Facility, was pronounced dead on August 1 at University Hospital in Newark.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen Lopez-Cornejo experienced a medical emergency while in ICE custody, GEO facility staff and medical staff responded immediately and called 911 for emergency medical services,\u201d ICE said. \u201cThe official cause of death remains pending further medical examination.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jeffries, who represents New York\u2019s 8th Congressional District, joined fellow Representatives Analilia Mejia and Rob Menendez, clergy members, local officials, former detainees and families affected by the Trump administration\u2019s immigration enforcement policies at a press conference on Tuesday following a roundtable discussion on conditions at Delaney Hall.<\/p>\n
\u201cTaxpayer dollars should be used to make life more affordable for the people of this community, this state and throughout our country,\u201d Jeffries said. \u201cInstead, taxpayer dollars are being used by ICE and Donald Trump\u2019s violent mass deportation machine to brutalise and kill American citizens and law-abiding immigrant families.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jeffries accused the Trump administration of failing to limit immigration enforcement to what it had described as the \u201cworst of the worst\u201d, saying ICE was instead targeting taxpayers, homeowners, families and business owners.<\/p>\n
\u201cImmigration enforcement in this country should be fair, just and humane,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s not what\u2019s happening, as was so powerfully communicated by family after family after family here today.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jeffries said his visit to Delaney Hall and accounts from detainees had raised concerns about inadequate medical treatment, care for pregnant women, food and sanitary conditions.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe activity that we\u2019ve continued to learn about is unacceptable, unconscionable and un-American,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cDelaney Hall needs to be shut down. And that will remain a high priority for us until it takes place.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jeffries also criticised the number of deaths in ICE custody since Trump returned to office.<\/p>\n
\u201cThree deaths at Delaney Hall \u2013 completely and totally unacceptable,\u201d he said. \u201cFifty-five deaths in ICE custody since the beginning of Donald Trump\u2019s time in office over the last 17 months or so. That means one death in ICE custody every six days. That is not America, and that\u2019s why we\u2019re committed to turning the situation around.\u201d<\/p>\n
Murad Awawdeh, president and CEO of the New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC), told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) that Lopez-Cornejo\u2019s death occurred at the end of July but was not disclosed until an unannounced oversight visit to the facility earlier this week.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis marks the third known death at the facility, including Edwin Lopez-Cornejo, which happened this weekend, and Jean Wilson Brutus, who passed away in December 2025,\u201d Awawdeh said.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery person deserves to be treated with dignity and humanity, regardless of their immigration status.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe third reported death at Delaney Hall is a devastating tragedy that should have been prevented. Unfortunately, this death is not an isolated incident at this facility, but an ongoing pattern of abuse both here and at detention centres across the country,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Awawdeh called for Delaney Hall to be permanently closed and for those responsible for conditions there to be held accountable.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery day Delaney Hall remains open is another day that lives are put at unnecessary risk,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill said she was \u201cdeeply disturbed\u201d by the death and that her administration was working with the state\u2019s Congressional delegation to establish what happened.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the same time, we continue to face obstruction in our efforts to conduct a full health inspection of the facility,\u201d Sherrill said. \u201cEvery effort to block oversight raises serious questions about what is happening inside Delaney Hall and what those operating the facility are trying to hide.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis tragedy is another painful reminder of why Delaney Hall should be closed,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
Sherrill said she had long opposed private, for-profit prisons and would continue using \u201cevery tool available\u201d to close Delaney Hall and prevent other private detention facilities from opening.<\/p>\n
According to ICE, US Customs and Border Protection arrested Lopez-Cornejo for entering the United States without inspection on or about August 13, 2006.<\/p>\n
A Department of Justice immigration judge ordered him removed on August 25, 2006, and he was deported to El Salvador on October 19 that year, ICE said.<\/p>\n
The agency said Lopez-Cornejo later re-entered the United States illegally.<\/p>\n
ICE agents arrested him in Plainfield, New Jersey, on June 18, 2026, and he was subsequently detained at Delaney Hall pending removal pursuant to a reinstatement of his previous removal order, the agency said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile in custody, Lopez-Cornejo received proper medical care and was seen by medical professionals,\u201d ICE said.<\/p>\n
The agency said the Department of Homeland Security, the ICE Office of Inspector General and the ICE Office of Professional Responsibility were notified, along with the Consulate of El Salvador in Elizabeth, New Jersey, and Lopez-Cornejo\u2019s next of kin.<\/p>\n
Delaney Hall has faced mounting criticism over its conditions in recent months.<\/p>\n
In May, several Democratic members of Congress who visited the facility during an oversight inspection said they witnessed what they described as \u201chorrific conditions\u201d, including poor food, inadequate medical services and overcrowding, amid a hunger strike by detainees.<\/p>\n
New Jersey Senator Andy Kim said detainees had complained about poor treatment, food and water quality, while Congressman Jerry Nadler said some detainees were receiving small portions of food that \u201cvery often\u201d contained maggots.<\/p>\n
The Department of Homeland Security rejected the allegations, saying all detainees are provided with three meals a day, clean water, clothing, bedding, showers, soap and toiletries.<\/p>\n
DHS also said detainees have access to telephones, medical, dental and mental health services, medical appointments and 24-hour emergency care.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NEW YORK, New York \u2013 Democratic Leader of the United States House of Representatives Hakeem Jeffries has joined…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":193750,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[144],"tags":[49417,86818,86812,6607,86816,485,86813,95,86817,113,86815,86814],"class_list":["post-193749","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-hakeem-jeffries","tag-barbados","tag-caribbean-diaspora","tag-caribbean-news","tag-cuba","tag-grenada","tag-hakeem-jeffries","tag-jamaica","tag-miami","tag-monthly-news-magazine","tag-sports","tag-st-kitts","tag-trinidad"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@people\/117119496088464564","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/193749","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=193749"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/193749\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/193750"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=193749"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=193749"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=193749"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}