Salvadoran man dies in ICE custody at New Jersey detention center

A 41-year-old Salvadoran national died in federal custody after experiencing a medical emergency at Delaney Hall, the largest immigration detention facility in the New York metropolitan area.

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said Monday that medical personnel at University Hospital in Newark, New Jersey pronounced Edwin Lopez-Cornejo dead on Saturday.

The official cause of death remains pending further examination.

Lopez-Cornejo was apprehended by ICE on June 18 in Plainfield, New Jersey following a prior removal from the US in 2006. He was being held at the Newark facility pending deportation.

ICE maintained that the detainee received "proper medical care" and that staff responded immediately by calling emergency services during his medical crisis.

"ICE is committed to ensuring that all those in custody reside in safe, secure and humane environments," it said.

Newark Mayor Ras Baraka issued a stinging rebuke following the incident, describing the death as a "heartbreaking reminder" of a lack of oversight.

"We cannot allow these disturbing failures to continue unchecked," Baraka said, calling for the immediate closure of Delaney Hall.

He accused the facility's operator, GEO Group, and ICE of demonstrating a persistent "disregard for transparency" and public safety laws.

"Every person, regardless of their immigration status, deserves to be treated with dignity, humanity, respect and care," said Baraka.

The death marks the second fatality at the facility since it opened a year and a half ago. In May, detainees at the center launched a hunger strike to protest what they characterized as inhumane living conditions, vowing to "stop eating and stop working" indefinitely until conditions improved, and ultimately until they were freed.