Family members of a Salvadoran man who died at a New Jersey immigration jail are demanding an independent investigation into his death, alleging he was denied proper medical care inside a facility that has become a flashpoint for protests against President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.
The man, Edwin Lopez-Cornejo, was hospitalized Saturday after suffering a “medical emergency” while being held at Delaney Hall in Newark, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He died the same day.
His official cause of death will be released following further medical examination, according to ICE, which has listed his age as 41. Relatives said he was 39.
At a news conference Tuesday, distraught family members said Lopez-Cornejo had complained he was not getting regular access to his medications, which he took for diabetes, high blood pressure and seizures. His mother, Maria Cornejo, said he called the day before his death to tell her he had spoken to a doctor early Friday and had lost feeling in half his face and arm.
“My son needed medical attention, and he didn’t receive it,” Cornejo said in Spanish. “He was a good father. A good son. A hardworking man. He didn’t harm anyone.”
Through tears, his 12-year-old daughter, Ashley Lopez, said the family knew his health had worsened in detention. “All of us were worried about him,” she said.
In their statement, ICE said Lopez-Cornejo “received proper medical care and was seen by medical professionals” while in custody. He had been held at the facility since his arrest June 18, according to the agency, which accused him of entering the country illegally.
In all, at least 56 people have died in ICE custody during Trump’s second term. Hundreds of detainees across the U.S. have brought lawsuits accusing immigrant detention facilities of failing to provide proper medical care.
In recent months, Delaney Hall has been the site of fierce protests by immigration advocates, with demonstrators at times attempting to block vehicles from entering or leaving the facility. Earlier this year, some detainees launched a hunger strike over the conditions, according to Cosecha, an immigrant advocacy group.
The facility is owned by Geo Group, a private prison contractor that operates multiple detention centers across the country. The contractor did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment.
After Lopez-Cornejo’s death, Democratic politicians and civil rights groups renewed their calls to shutter the 1,000-bed facility.
“This is not the first death of a detainee at Delaney Hall, and absent decisive action, it will not be the last,” Democratic U.S. Sen. Cory Booker said in a statement. “I have visited the facility myself and witnessed these conditions firsthand, so I say this plainly: Delaney Hall must be closed immediately and permanently.”
In December, Jean Wilson Brutus, a 41-year-old Haitian national, died after collapsing at the jail in what a medical examiner ruled was due to a blood clot blocking an artery in his lungs.
On Monday, U.S. Rep. Rob Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat who has routinely visited Delaney Hall, told reporters another person detained by ICE died in July after they suffered a seizure while they were being processed at the facility. Menendez said ICE granted the individual a “discretionary release” from custody after they were taken to a hospital and lost consciousness, and the person died shortly afterward.
Menendez did not identify the individual. ICE didn’t immediately respond to an inquiry about the case.
Menendez said ICE did not report the death, in line with a policy change announced earlier this year in which the agency no longer reports deaths that occur within 30 days of someone’s release from custody.
ICE has also not publicly recognized the July 24 death of 29-year-old Priciliano Trejo in Georgia, which came nine days after the agency released him from custody while he was hospitalized in a coma, according to a coalition of advocacy groups in the state. The agency has not responded to inquiries about Trejo’s death.
On Tuesday, Lopez-Cornejo’s brother, Danilo Lopez, called for the release of all medically vulnerable detainees, adding that the family would seek an independent state investigation into the “health crisis” at Delaney Hall.
In a statement, New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill, a Democrat, said her administration’s inspection efforts “continue to face obstruction.”
“Every effort to block oversight raises serious questions about what is happening inside Delaney Hall and what those operating the facility are trying to hide,” she added.
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Associated Press journalists Ryan Foley in Iowa City, Iowa, and Joseph Frederick, in Highland Park, New Jersey, contributed to this report.
