ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — Family members and advocates are mourning for an immigrant detainee in North Jersey who died in federal custody last weekend.
On Monday, María Cornejo posted a video on social media about her son, Edwin Jovanny Lopez Cornejo. The video, shared by advocacy group New Labor, can be viewed online here.
According to Cornejo, her son was declared dead on arrival Saturday at a hospital after being taken there from Delaney Hall in Newark.
Delaney Hall formerly held immigration detainees for the federal government from 2011 to 2017 under the Obama administration, until it closed and was turned into a halfway house. The prison was the first federal detention center to reopen under the second term of President Donald Trump. It is owned by the GEO Group, one of the largest private prison companies in the nation.
Cornejo – the father of a 12-year-old daughter – had been living in the United States for nearly 20 years at the time of his death, she said.
Cornejo said her son had diabetes, high blood pressure and a history of seizures that required medication. He called his mother on Friday, reporting that his right hand and face were numb and he wasn't feeling well.
Other relatives described Cornejo as a non-violent, hardworking provider, alleging that he had a valid work permit when he was apprehended on his way to his job in June.
The ACLU of New Jersey alleged that Cornejo didn't get adequate medical care while in federal custody.
"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," the ACLU-NJ charged.
U.S. Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman identified Cornejo as a 39-year-old Plainfield resident who is an "upstanding member of his community."
Another New Jersey Democrat, U.S. Rep. LaMonica McIver, said she is mourning for Cornejo, and pointed to the recent death of another detainee at Delaney Hall last year: Jean Wilson Brutus.
Brutus, a 41-year-old Haitian native accused of entering the country illegally, was arrested on Dec. 11 and died on Dec. 12 at University Hospital. According to ICE, he showed "no signs of distress" during intake and didn't have a medical history of cardiovascular issues. Federal authorities said "suspected natural causes" may have been behind his death.
"Reports that another person has died in ICE custody at Delaney Hall are heartbreaking and deeply disturbing – but tragically, they're not unexpected," McIver said Monday. "This is a pattern of abuse and neglect."
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka also said more oversight is needed at the prison, which has also resisted the city's demands for inspections.
"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," Baraka said. "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."
Gov. Mikie Sherrill also commented on the situation, reporting that her administration is working with Congressional delegates to gather all the facts surrounding the death.
"At the same time, we continue to face obstruction in our efforts to conduct a full health inspection of the facility," Sherrill alleged.
Another New Jersey Democrat, U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, called the death "unacceptable."
"I have visited the facility myself and witnessed these conditions firsthand, so I say this plainly: Delaney Hall must be closed immediately and permanently," Booker said.
A spokesperson for the GEO Group referred all questions to ICE when reached for comment about the family's allegations.
ICE RELEASES DETAILS ABOUT DEATH
ICE issued a statement about the death on Monday, claiming that Cornejo received proper medical care and was seen by medical professionals.
According to federal authorities, Cornejo experienced a medical emergency while in ICE custody. GEO Group employees and medical staff responded immediately and called 911 for emergency medical services.
The official cause of death remains pending further medical examination, ICE reported.
U.S Border Patrol agents arrested Cornejo, an El Salvador native, for illegally entering the United States without inspection on or about Aug. 13, 2006. On Aug. 25, 2006, a federal immigration judge ordered him deported, and Lopez-Cornejo was removed to El Salvador on October 19, 2006.
He illegally reentered the U.S. at a later unknown date, authorities said.
On June 18, 2026, ICE arrested Cornejo in Plainfield, New Jersey. He was subsequently detained at Delaney Hall pending removal from the United States pursuant to a reinstatement of his prior removal order.
The consulate of El Salvador in Elizabeth, New Jersey, as well as Lopez-Cornejo's next of kin, were notified of his death, authorities said.
DELANEY HALL AND ICE
Delaney Hall has seen a wave of controversy since it began holding ICE detainees again under the Trump administration, including allegations of poor treatment, federal charges against the city's mayor and a U.S. congresswoman, and a high-profile prison escape.
Hundreds of detainees launched a hunger and labor strike at the prison in May. Detainees alleged they are facing "inhumane" conditions, such as a lack of medical care, bad food and an unfair court system.
Federal authorities and prison spokespeople have repeatedly denied the allegations of mistreatment at Delaney Hall.
A Homeland Security spokesperson previously told Patch that the health care at Delaney Hall is "the best many aliens have received in their entire lives," pointing to mandatory assessments for new arrivals, access to "24-hour emergency care" and meals that are "certified by dieticians."
The GEO Group has also denied the allegations from detainees, claiming that they were instigated by "politically motivated" outside groups as part of a campaign to abolish ICE.
"The support services GEO provides include around-the-clock access to medical care, in-person and virtual legal and family visitation, general and legal library access, translation services, dietician-approved meals, religious and specialty diets, recreational amenities, and opportunities to practice their religious beliefs," a spokesperson previously said.
The accusations have also caught the attention of President Trump, who claimed that the United States runs the "finest facilities anywhere in the world of their type."
Homeland Security officials, including Secretary Markwayne Mullin, have insisted that Delaney Hall is housing some of the "worst of the worst" criminals in New Jersey.
Advocates and family members of ICE detainees have pushed back against the claim that most of the immigrants imprisoned at facilities like Delaney Hall are "criminals," however.
In April, data research organization Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse reported that out of 60,311 people held in ICE detention across the nation, about 70.8 percent had no criminal conviction before being apprehended – and many of those who do were convicted only of minor offenses such as traffic violations.
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