Deaths and controversies at Delaney Hall Detention Facility
The developments in this story so far, most recent first.
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· date approximate Development
Salvadoran Man Dies in New Jersey Immigration Detention, Officials Say
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· date approximate Background
Edwin Lopez-Cornejo was apprehended by ICE in Plainfield, New Jersey.
On June 18, 2026, Edwin Lopez-Cornejo was apprehended by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers in Plainfield, New Jersey.
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· date approximate Background
Detainees at Delaney Hall Detention Facility launched a hunger strike to protest inhumane living conditions.
In May, detainees at the Delaney Hall Detention Facility in Newark, New Jersey, launched a hunger strike to protest inhumane living conditions. At least 300 detainees organized both a hunger and labor strike during this period, vowing to stop eating and working indefinitely until conditions improved or they were freed.
The protests included demands for the release of specific groups, such as mothers, individuals with medical conditions, and women under the age of 21. Some women living in a separate unit of the facility also launched their own hunger strike weeks after the initial action.
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· date approximate Background
Jean Wilson Brutus died in ICE custody at Delaney Hall Detention Facility.
In December 2025, Jean Wilson Brutus, a 41-year-old Haitian national, died at the Delaney Hall Detention Facility in Newark, New Jersey. Reports indicate he died from a medical emergency less than 24 hours after entering US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody.
A medical examiner ruled the death as a natural death caused by a pulmonary embolism, also described as a lung blockage.