NEWARK, NJ — A vigil to remember people who died while in ICE custody took place outside a federal immigration detention center in Newark earlier this week.
The gathering was held Monday at Delaney Hall in recognition of Día de los Muertos – the Day of the Dead.
Families and community members came together to share stories, remember loved ones and "demand accountability" from authorities, organizers said.
ICE reported 33 detainee deaths across the U.S. in 2025: the highest total in more than two decades, according to the National Immigration Project.
Three deaths have taken place while detainees were in custody at Delaney Hall within the past year: Jean Wilson Brutus, Edwin Jovanny Lopez-Cornejo, and Jose Chajon-Raxon.
"As communities across the country observe Día de los Muertos, a tradition rooted in honoring those who have passed, participants will transform remembrance into a collective call for justice," organizers with Resistencia en Acción said prior to last week's vigil outside Delaney Hall.
"By uplifting the voices of directly impacted community members, participants will affirm that no family should be forgotten and every life deserves dignity, compassion and justice," advocates said.
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Delaney Hall was the first federal detention center to reopen under President Donald Trump's second term. The facility is run by the GEO Group, one of the largest private prison companies in the nation, which was awarded a 15-year contract valued at $1 billion to run the facility.
The prison 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. 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, forced labor and an unfair court system.
Federal authorities and spokespeople with the GEO Group have repeatedly denied the allegations of mistreatment at the prison.
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 and advocates, 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.
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.
Earlier this year, 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.
Catch up with some of our recent coverage about Delaney Hall below (click headlines to read the article):
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