Federal immigration authorities said a 41-year-old Salvadoran man died in custody last week at Delaney Hall Detention Facility in Newark, New Jersey, after he illegally re-entered the United States following a previous deportation.
Edwin Lopez-Cornejo suffered a medical emergency at the facility and was taken to University Hospital in Newark, where he was pronounced dead Aug. 1, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced Monday. Staff employed by GEO Group, the private company that manages Delaney Hall, responded to the emergency along with medical personnel and called 911, the agency said. A formal medical examination will determine the official cause of death.
Lopez-Cornejo was first taken into custody by U.S. Border Patrol around Aug. 13, 2006, after entering the country without inspection. A Department of Justice immigration judge ordered him removed Aug. 25, 2006, and he was deported to El Salvador on Oct. 19, 2006. He later re-entered the United States illegally on an unknown date, according to ICE, and was arrested June 18 in Plainfield, New Jersey. He remained at Delaney Hall pending removal under a reinstated deportation order.
ICE said Lopez-Cornejo received proper medical care while in detention. The agency notified Department of Homeland Security oversight offices, El Salvador’s consulate in Elizabeth, New Jersey, and his next of kin.
The death quickly drew condemnation from New Jersey officials, who renewed demands to shut down Delaney Hall. Gov. Mikie Sherrill said she was deeply disturbed by the death and that her administration was working with the state’s congressional delegation to gather the facts. «My heart is with the individual’s loved ones, who deserve answers about what happened,» she said. «This tragedy is another painful reminder of why Delaney Hall should be closed.»
Newark Mayor Ras J. Baraka also issued a statement condemning the death. «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,» Baraka said. He noted that another family had faced a similar loss in less than a year.
In December 2025, another detainee, Jean Wilson Brutus, 41, died after suffering a medical emergency less than 24 hours after entering Delaney Hall. The facility has been repeatedly accused by state and local inspectors of obstructing health and safety inspections, and it has been the site of ongoing protests and detainee hunger strikes over food quality, overcrowding and medical care.
Sherrill and a Democratic senator spent Memorial Day protesting outside the facility, and the latest death is expected to amplify demands for its closure. Local officials have argued that the privately operated center has functioned for years without adequate public oversight, and the case has renewed scrutiny of how medical emergencies are handled inside.
The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
