Edwin Lopez-Cornejo, a 41-year-old from El Salvador, died at Delaney Hall, a 1,000-bed immigration detention facility in Newark, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Lopez-Cornejo had been held at the facility following his arrest June 18 on allegations of entering the country illegally. He died Saturday, with ICE stating that his official cause of death would be determined following medical examination.
The facility has been the subject of sustained protests and criticism from Democratic officials and civil rights organizations over detainee conditions and medical care. U.S. Senator Cory Booker called for immediate closure of the facility, stating he had visited and witnessed conditions firsthand. Governor Mikie Sherrill noted that her administration continues to face obstacles in conducting health inspections. Detainees have reported being denied medication, and an immigrant advocacy group tracked a hunger strike at the facility earlier in the year.
ICE disputed these characterizations, stating that Lopez-Cornejo received proper medical care from medical professionals during his detention. Trump administration officials have defended the facility’s operations and denied reports of hunger strikes, abuse, or inadequate conditions. The death marks the second fatality at Delaney Hall since the start of Trump’s second term, following the December death of Jean Wilson Brutus, a Haitian national whose death was ruled natural causes by medical examiners.
The facility is operated by Geo Group, a private prison contractor that manages multiple detention centers nationally. According to Associated Press tracking, at least 56 people have died in ICE custody during Trump’s second term. Officials at Geo Group did not immediately provide comment on the death.
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