NJ Lawmakers Clash Over Fate Of ICE Prison After 3 Detainee Deaths

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — Congressional Democrats are ramping up their demands to shut down a federal immigration prison in North Jersey.

Every Democratic member of the U.S. House and Senate from New Jersey is now calling for the closure of Delaney Hall in Newark, alleging that three people have died in ICE custody there within a year – a “flashing warning light” that can no longer be ignored.

Meanwhile, several prominent Republicans insist that the prison is providing adequate medical care, including President Donald Trump, who says the United States runs the “finest facilities anywhere in the world of their type.”

Delaney Hall was the first federal detention center to reopen under Trump’s second term. The facility – which also held detainees under the Obama administration – is run by the GEO Group, one of the largest private prison companies in the nation.

The renewed push against Delaney Hall sparked earlier this week, when federal authorities confirmed that Edwin Jovanny Lopez Cornejo, 41, of Plainfield, died while in ICE custody.

According to ICE, Cornejo experienced a medical emergency. He was taken to University Hospital in Newark and declared dead on Aug. 1. The cause of death remains pending.

Family members and advocates are alleging that Cornejo, who had diabetes, high blood pressure and a history of seizures that required medication, didn’t get proper medical care while in federal custody.

ICE is denying their allegations, claiming that Cornejo received proper care and was seen by medical professionals.

A fundraiser has been launched to help Cornejo’s family pay for funeral expenses.

• READ MORE: Another NJ Immigrant Detainee Has Died In ICE Custody, Feds Confirm

Cornejo’s death is the second confirmed detainee death that has taken place at Delaney Hall in the past year.

Jean Wilson Brutus, 41, died at University Hospital in December 2025. Brutus, a Haitian native accused of entering the country illegally, was arrested on Dec. 11 and imprisoned at Delaney Hall. After he experienced a medical emergency, a local EMS crew was called to the prison. Emergency responders performed life-saving measures and transported Brutus to the hospital. He was pronounced dead on Dec. 12.

According to ICE, Brutus had “no signs of distress” during intake and didn’t have a medical history of cardiovascular issues.

• READ MORE: NJ Detainee Dies In ICE Custody, Sparking Outcry From Advocates

Recently, U.S. Rep. Rob Menendez Jr. reported that another detainee at Delaney Hall died a few weeks ago – which would bring the recent death count to three.

Menendez said he learned about the death after he made an oversight visit to the prison.

The detainee, who had “just been brought there,” likely suffered a seizure and was released to University Hospital in Newark – so he was technically no longer in ICE custody, the congressman reported.

Menendez said ICE recently changed its rules and no longer reports on deaths that happen 30 days after someone is released from their custody. He alleged that the rule change is meant to reduce the number of deaths that are being reported.

CONGRESS MEMBERS CLASH

The reports of Cornejo’s death have sparked a fresh wave of outrage among the state’s Democratic members of Congress, including U.S. Sens. Cory Booker and Andy Kim.

On Thursday, the congressmen sought unanimous consent to immediately pass the “Delaney Hall Closure Act,” a piece of legislation that would permanently close Delaney Hall within 90 days.

Speaking on the Senate floor, Booker said Cornejo’s death is one more reason why the controversial prison needs to be shut down.

“Three people have now died at Delaney Hall, and unless Congress acts, there will be more,” he charged.

“I have inspected this facility myself and seen the dangerous conditions with my own eyes,” Booker said. “Delaney Hall has become a symbol of neglect, abuse, and a failed detention system, and every day it remains open puts more lives at risk.”

Kim, who was treated for exposure to pepper spray after he tried to break up a confrontation between protesters and ICE agents earlier this year, also said it’s time to “shut down Delaney Hall.”

“What I have seen and heard inside Delaney Hall over the last year is absolutely unacceptable and highlights why private prisons like the GEO Group have no place in New Jersey,” he said.

U.S. Sen. Eric Schmitt, a Republican from Missouri, objected to the legislation – derailing the measure for now.

Meanwhile, all nine Democratic members of the New Jersey House delegation sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and acting ICE Director David Venturella, arguing that the prison should be closed immediately.

“Three deaths connected to a single detention facility are not isolated incidents,” the lawmakers wrote. “They are a red, flashing warning light that ICE continues to ignore.”

The letter was signed by U.S. Reps. Analilia Mejia (NJ-11), Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12), LaMonica McIver (NJ-10), Robert Menendez (NJ-8), Frank Pallone (NJ-6), Nellie Pou (NJ-09), Donald Norcross (NJ-1), Herb Conaway (NJ-3), and Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5).

On the flip side of the aisle, one of the state’s Republican House members – U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew (NJ-2), a Republican who chaired Trump’s re-election campaign in New Jersey – insists that his Democratic peers are using the situation as political ammunition.

Van Drew recently chaired a hearing in the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Oversight to discuss “false narratives” about the conditions at Delaney Hall.

“I've seen them with my own eyes,” the congressman said. “I walked the facility. I met with the staff… And what I saw goes against all the narratives that you hear and that that the Democrats have tried to say about this facility.”

DELANEY HALL AND ICE

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 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.

Last year, the Trump administration awarded the GEO Group a 15-year contract valued at $1 billion to run Delaney Hall.

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.

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.

Pro-immigrant advocates continue to push for the shutdown of Delaney Hall, renewing their calls for action in the wake of Cornejo’s death.

“We echo Edwin’s family’s call for justice and transparency, and we reject ICE’s lies about Edwin’s treatment,” charged Nedia Morsy, director of Make the Road New Jersey.

“Delaney Hall must be shut down immediately and all the people must be freed, beginning with those who are most medically vulnerable,” Morsy said.

Rosa Santana, co-executive director of the Envision Freedom Fund, said Cornejo’s family deserves “full transparency, accountability and justice.”

“Delaney must be closed, and we must end the system of immigration detention that continues to put lives at risk,” Santana said.

• Related: NJ Sues Owner Of ICE Prison, Sherrill Demands Inspections Amid Wave Of Complaints
• Related: NJ ICE Detainee Was Raped At Delaney Hall, Attorney Alleges: Report
• Related: NJ Labor Groups Protest At Delaney Hall, Demand ‘Abolition Of ICE’

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