The death of Salvadoran immigrant Edwin Jovanny López Cornejo while he was in custody of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service (ICE) once again placed detention conditions and medical care at the center of the debate at Delaney Hall, an immigration center in New Jersey that has been the subject of protests and complaints in recent months.

López Cornejo, according to his family, was 39 years old and had been detained for approximately six weeks when he suffered a medical emergency last weekend. His relatives maintain that the authorities did not provide him with the treatment he needed to control the diabetes and seizures resulting from the epilepsy he suffered from.

His brother stated that the Salvadoran had been prescribed medication for life and assured that “those pills were not provided to him” during his stay in the center. López Cornejo leaves behind a 12-year-old daughter. His mother, María Cornejo, assured Noticias Telemundo that she spoke with him for the last time on Friday, when he told her that he was feeling bad.

He also reported that he later suffered a fall inside the detention center and maintained that the ICE agents “only managed to take him out to send him to the hospital, but my son was no longer alive.”

Family denounces negligence; ICE defends its actions

María Cornejo assured that it was the hospital, and not the immigration authorities, who notified her of the death of her son. According to his version, the doctors informed him that López Cornejo arrived without vital signs. "It was medical negligence, because they didn't give him the aid he needed either. My son had no vices, he had no [criminal] record, he was an excellent son," the mother declared to the Noticias Telemundo program AHORA 360.

ICE reported that the detainee suffered a “medical emergency,” so center staff called 911 before transferring him to a hospital. The agency maintained that López Cornejo received “appropriate health care” and noted that the official cause of death remains pending the results of medical investigations.

The agency also indicated that the migrant was 41 years old, while his family maintains that he was 39.

Delaney Hall accumulates complaints and new investigation demands

The death comes as Delaney Hall faces growing questions over alleged deficiencies in medical care, unsanitary conditions and mistreatment. Prior to this case, Haitian migrant Jean Wilson Brutus died in the same center in December 2025. Democratic federal representative for New Jersey, Bonnie Watson Coleman, stated that, if it is confirmed that the detainee was denied access to essential medications, the case could represent a serious violation of his rights.

"Edwin had lived in the United States since he was a child. Everything shows that he was an upright and respectable member of his community," he said in a statement.

For its part, the New Jersey office of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) maintained that the tragedy reflects the conditions that, according to the organization, prevail in numerous immigration detention centers, where the lack of adequate medical care is frequently reported.

New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill reiterated her call to close Delaney Hall after learning of the death. The case also coincides with an increase in deaths in ICE custody. Civil organizations estimate that more than 20 people have died in detention centers during the last year.

In addition, they criticize a recent change in agency policy that eliminates the obligation to publicly report the deaths of people who die after being transferred or released from custody, a measure that, they say, reduces transparency and makes accountability difficult. While investigations into the official cause of death continue, López Cornejo's family is demanding an independent investigation and accountability. “I demand an answer, I demand that there be justice not only for me and my son but for everything that is happening,” said María Cornejo.

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