US Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries Joins Immigration Advocates Demanding Closure of ICE Detention Facility

NEW YORK, New York – Democratic Leader of the United States House of Representatives Hakeem Jeffries has joined immigration advocates and other elected officials in demanding the closure of a controversial US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility in Newark, New Jersey, following the third reported death there.

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries speaks at a press conference about the Democratic agenda to rein in ICE. (Photo credit: Office of Congressman Hakeem Jeffries)ICE reported on August 3 that Edwin Lopez-Cornejo, a 41-year-old Salvadoran national detained at the Delaney Hall Detention Facility, was pronounced dead on August 1 at University Hospital in Newark.

“When Lopez-Cornejo experienced a medical emergency while in ICE custody, GEO facility staff and medical staff responded immediately and called 911 for emergency medical services,” ICE said. “The official cause of death remains pending further medical examination.”

Jeffries, who represents New York’s 8th Congressional District, joined fellow Representatives Analilia Mejia and Rob Menendez, clergy members, local officials, former detainees and families affected by the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement policies at a press conference on Tuesday following a roundtable discussion on conditions at Delaney Hall.

“Taxpayer dollars should be used to make life more affordable for the people of this community, this state and throughout our country,” Jeffries said. “Instead, taxpayer dollars are being used by ICE and Donald Trump’s violent mass deportation machine to brutalise and kill American citizens and law-abiding immigrant families.”

Jeffries accused the Trump administration of failing to limit immigration enforcement to what it had described as the “worst of the worst”, saying ICE was instead targeting taxpayers, homeowners, families and business owners.

“Immigration enforcement in this country should be fair, just and humane,” he said. “That’s not what’s happening, as was so powerfully communicated by family after family after family here today.”

Jeffries said his visit to Delaney Hall and accounts from detainees had raised concerns about inadequate medical treatment, care for pregnant women, food and sanitary conditions.

“The activity that we’ve continued to learn about is unacceptable, unconscionable and un-American,” he said.

“Delaney Hall needs to be shut down. And that will remain a high priority for us until it takes place.”

Jeffries also criticised the number of deaths in ICE custody since Trump returned to office.

“Three deaths at Delaney Hall – completely and totally unacceptable,” he said. “Fifty-five deaths in ICE custody since the beginning of Donald Trump’s time in office over the last 17 months or so. That means one death in ICE custody every six days. That is not America, and that’s why we’re committed to turning the situation around.”

Murad Awawdeh, president and CEO of the New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC), told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) that Lopez-Cornejo’s death occurred at the end of July but was not disclosed until an unannounced oversight visit to the facility earlier this week.

“This marks the third known death at the facility, including Edwin Lopez-Cornejo, which happened this weekend, and Jean Wilson Brutus, who passed away in December 2025,” Awawdeh said.

“Every person deserves to be treated with dignity and humanity, regardless of their immigration status.

“The third reported death at Delaney Hall is a devastating tragedy that should have been prevented. Unfortunately, this death is not an isolated incident at this facility, but an ongoing pattern of abuse both here and at detention centres across the country,” he added.

Awawdeh called for Delaney Hall to be permanently closed and for those responsible for conditions there to be held accountable.

“Every day Delaney Hall remains open is another day that lives are put at unnecessary risk,” he said.

New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill said she was “deeply disturbed” by the death and that her administration was working with the state’s Congressional delegation to establish what happened.

“At the same time, we continue to face obstruction in our efforts to conduct a full health inspection of the facility,” Sherrill said. “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.”

“This tragedy is another painful reminder of why Delaney Hall should be closed,” she added.

Sherrill said she had long opposed private, for-profit prisons and would continue using “every tool available” to close Delaney Hall and prevent other private detention facilities from opening.

According to ICE, US Customs and Border Protection arrested Lopez-Cornejo for entering the United States without inspection on or about August 13, 2006.

A Department of Justice immigration judge ordered him removed on August 25, 2006, and he was deported to El Salvador on October 19 that year, ICE said.

The agency said Lopez-Cornejo later re-entered the United States illegally.

ICE agents arrested him in Plainfield, New Jersey, on June 18, 2026, and he was subsequently detained at Delaney Hall pending removal pursuant to a reinstatement of his previous removal order, the agency said.

“While in custody, Lopez-Cornejo received proper medical care and was seen by medical professionals,” ICE said.

The agency said the Department of Homeland Security, the ICE Office of Inspector General and the ICE Office of Professional Responsibility were notified, along with the Consulate of El Salvador in Elizabeth, New Jersey, and Lopez-Cornejo’s next of kin.

Delaney Hall has faced mounting criticism over its conditions in recent months.

In May, several Democratic members of Congress who visited the facility during an oversight inspection said they witnessed what they described as “horrific conditions”, including poor food, inadequate medical services and overcrowding, amid a hunger strike by detainees.

New Jersey Senator Andy Kim said detainees had complained about poor treatment, food and water quality, while Congressman Jerry Nadler said some detainees were receiving small portions of food that “very often” contained maggots.

The Department of Homeland Security rejected the allegations, saying all detainees are provided with three meals a day, clean water, clothing, bedding, showers, soap and toiletries.

DHS also said detainees have access to telephones, medical, dental and mental health services, medical appointments and 24-hour emergency care.