Salvadoran man dies in ICE custody at New Jersey detention centre

Summary

A Salvadoran man detained at a New Jersey immigration facility has died, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE (immigration enforcement agency)) has confirmed, in the second such death at the facility in less than a year. Edwin Lopez-Cornejo, 41, died on Saturday at a Newark hospital after experiencing a medical emergency at the Delaney Hall detention facility, ICE said in a statement on Monday. According to the agency, staff from GEO Group – the private contractor that runs the facility – along with medical personnel, responded and arranged for him to be taken to hospital. Officials have not yet determined an official cause of death. ICE records show Lopez-Cornejo was first detained and deported after crossing into the US without authorisation in 2006. He returned to the country at a later point and was picked up again by agents in Plainfield, New Jersey, in mid-June this year, before being held at Delaney Hall under an order reviving his earlier deportation case. Lopez-Cornejo had reportedly lived with diabetes, high blood pressure and seizures, and immigration advocates say he had been denied his medication while in detention. ICE maintains that everyone in its custody is screened for medical issues within hours of arrival, undergoes a fuller health check within two weeks, and has round-the-clock access to emergency treatment. We continue to hear about the inadequate care … which is why we keep showing up,” he said, adding that ICE and its contractors must be held accountable. Delaney Hall reopened last year as part of a broader expansion of immigration detention under the administration of President Donald Trump.