House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said on Aug. 11 that Delaney Hall, the privately operated immigration detention facility in Newark, New Jersey, should be closed, and that the majority of House Democrats oppose private detention.
“I think it’s fair to say that the overwhelming majority of House Democrats believe that a system of private detention is inconsistent with who we are as a country,” Jeffries said at a press conference alongside other Democratic lawmakers. “Because when you have private detention facilities, their behavior is not being driven by treating people in a manner consistent with the law or their health or their well-being. It’s driven by profits.”
Jeffries spoke after a meeting with detainees’ families hosted by Rep. Analilia Mejia (D-N.J.) at Calvary Baptist Church, joined by Rep. Rob Menendez (D-N.J.) and local officials from Morristown, Morris Township, and the town of Dover.
Jeffries said an immigration working group chaired by Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.), who leads the House Democratic Caucus, has brought together members from across the caucus to draft the party’s immigration proposals.
“This is what unites the entirety of the House Democratic Caucus family, from progressives to new Dems to blue dogs and all points in between, because it unites the country, is that immigration enforcement should be fair, just, and humane in this country,” he said.
He added that the party wants “a safe and secure and strong border” and that “the American people are unified behind the notion that violent criminals here unlawfully should be deported consistent with our laws.”
Fatalities at Delaney Hall
Jeffries said there have been three deaths connected to Delaney Hall and 55 deaths in ICE custody since President Donald Trump took office in January 2025. ICE’s public detainee death reporting page lists 55 deaths dated on or after Jan. 20, 2025, through July 13, 2026, the most recent entry posted. The page does not yet include two of the three people whose deaths the New Jersey delegation cited—Edwin Lopez-Cornejo and an unidentified individual who suffered a seizure during intake, was released, and later died at the hospital.
All nine Democrats in New Jersey’s House delegation wrote to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and acting ICE Director David J. Venturella on Aug. 6, setting an Aug. 12 deadline for answers. The letter says two people died while detained at Delaney Hall and a third died shortly after being released from ICE custody following a medical emergency that the lawmakers say began while he was detained.
“Three deaths, repeated allegations of medical neglect, restricted oversight, and less public transparency are a terrible track record of care for individuals in your custody,” they wrote. “At this point, the question is no longer whether ICE knows what is happening inside Delaney Hall. It is, ‘why does ICE continue to allow the GEO Group to put lives at risk?’”
The lawmakers asked for a full accounting of the three deaths, all inspections, mortality reviews, staffing assessments and internal communications on medical care at the facility, a description of any contractual or financial action ICE has taken against GEO Group, and a commitment to give members of Congress and state health officials unrestricted access.
They also wrote that ICE rescinded a policy requiring public reporting and congressional notification when someone dies within 30 days of release from its custody, pointing to an agency directive issued June 2. The letter says New Jersey sued after state health inspectors were denied full access to the facility and that ICE’s own inspectors identified deficiencies in detainee care and safety.
Edwin Lopez-Cornejo, 41, a Salvadoran national, was pronounced dead on Aug. 1 at University Hospital in Newark after a medical emergency at the facility. ICE said in an Aug. 3 statement that GEO Group facility staff and medical staff responded immediately and called 911, and that the official cause of death remains pending further medical examination.
The agency said Border Patrol arrested Lopez-Cornejo in 2006 for entering the country without inspection, that an immigration judge ordered him removed that year, and that he was deported to El Salvador in October 2006 before reentering at an unknown later date. ICE said it arrested him in Plainfield, New Jersey, on June 18 and held him at Delaney Hall pending removal under a reinstatement of the earlier order.
“While in custody, Lopez-Cornejo received proper medical care and was seen by medical professionals,” the statement said.
ICE also said everyone in its custody receives medical, dental, and mental health screenings within 12 hours of arriving at a facility, a full health assessment within 14 days, and access to medical appointments and 24-hour emergency care. “At no time during detention is a detained noncitizen denied emergency care,” the agency said.
Jean Wilson Brutus, 41, a Haitian national, died Dec. 12 at University Hospital from what ICE described as suspected natural causes. The agency said in a Dec. 18 statement that Brutus entered its custody on Dec. 11 after Union County Jail released him following an arrest for criminal mischief, that emergency medical services performed life-saving measures at Delaney Hall, and that he showed no signs of distress at intake and had no medical history of cardiovascular issues.
ICE said Brutus entered the United States in June 2023 at the Hidalgo, Texas, port of entry and was paroled pending immigration proceedings. The agency said Elizabeth police arrested him four times for criminal trespass between July 2024 and November 2025 and twice for criminal mischief, and that the county jail released him despite an immigration detainer.
Contrasting Views
New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport announced on Aug. 7 that her office’s civil rights division is investigating the facility’s operation.
Menendez said GEO Group’s medical staff are company employees and noted the firm’s earnings reports.
“They’ve been talking about bringing out a second physician to Delaney Hall. That has not happened yet,” Menendez said. “The day that Mr. Lopez Cornejo passed, there was no physician on site.”
Christopher Ferreira, GEO Group’s director of corporate relations, referred The Epoch Times to ICE when asked about the lawmakers’ criticism of the company.
Mejia said she found a constituent detained at the nearby Elizabeth Detention Center receiving a fraction of her prescribed medication, and that the woman’s doctor, pharmacy, and family were not contacted until members of Congress intervened. Mejia did not indicate the immigration status of the constituent.
Republicans have disputed Democrats’ allegations about the facility. The House Judiciary Committee held a hearing in July titled “False Narratives Surrounding Conditions at the Delaney Hall ICE Detention Center.”
In social media posts after the hearing, the committee wrote that the building “operated fine under former President Obama” and that “standards didn’t change. Only the President did.” Delaney Hall held ICE detainees from 2011 to 2017 under a contract with Essex County before closing, and reopened in 2025 under GEO Group’s 15-year contract.
The committee also noted that New Jersey Democrats “passed laws to ban ICE contracts and sued to shut down Delaney Hall.” The state enacted a law in 2021 barring new or renewed immigration detention contracts. A federal judge struck it down as applied to private companies in 2023, and the Third U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld that ruling in July 2025.
Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-N.J.) said his experience at the facility was different.
“I saw Delaney Hall with my own eyes. What I saw was nothing like the stories Democrats have been telling,” Van Drew said at the hearing. “The false narrative has fueled riots, assaults on law enforcement, and chaos outside the facility.”
DHS Responds
ICE referred The Epoch Times to DHS for comment. A DHS spokesperson responded to The Epoch Times in an email that the agency will continue to allow state and local inspectors access to Delaney Hall where appropriate.
Of deaths, DHS said, as of May 29, death rates in custody under the Trump administration were 0.008 percent of the detained population—consistent with data from the last decade.
“As bed space has rapidly expanded, we have maintained a higher standard of care than most prisons that hold U.S. citizens—including providing access to proper medical care,” the spokesperson said. “For many illegal aliens this is the best healthcare they have received their entire lives.”
DHS added that ICE remains committed to transparency regarding detainee deaths, and the agencies’ policy outlines procedures for timely notification, review, and reporting of deaths in custody, including notifying family, consulates, Congress, and the public.
“All detainees are provided with proper meals, water, medical treatment, and have opportunities to communicate with their family members and lawyers,” the spokesperson added. “ICE is regularly audited and inspected by external agencies. All detainees are provided with proper meals, quality water, blankets, and medical treatment. Meals are certified by dieticians.”
“It is a longstanding practice to provide comprehensive medical care from the moment an alien enters ICE custody. This includes medical, dental, and mental health services as available, and access to medical appointments and 24-hour emergency care.
“Being in detention is a choice. We encourage all illegal aliens to take control of their departure with the CBP Home App. The United States is offering illegal aliens $2,600 and a free flight to self-deport now. We encourage every person here illegally to take advantage of this offer and reserve the chance to come back to the U.S. the right legal way to live the American dream. If not, you will be arrested and deported without a chance to return.”
