The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, has confirmed the death of an immigrant who died in July shortly after his release from the Delaney Hall immigration detention center in Newark, New Jersey.
Guatemalan detainee Jose Chajon-Raxon died at University Hospital, where he was transported after experiencing “seizure-like activity” at Delaney Hall on July 19, according to a statement released late Wednesday. Chajon-Raxon was processed at Delaney Hall the day before his medical emergency and released from ICE custody on July 22.
The Trump administration previously did not publicly disclose Chajon-Raxon’s death, which is the third involving someone detained at the facility. The DHS spokesperson said ICE was not notified of his death and that the agency is not responsible for monitoring or reviewing deaths of individuals who are no longer in their custody.
The death was brought to public attention earlier this month by Democratic Rep. Rob Menendez, who at the time did not identify the detainee. Menendez’s disclosure followed the death of another detainee, 41-year-old Edwin Jovanny Lopez Cornejo from El Salvador, on Aug 1.
Both those deaths were preceded by the death of 41-year-old detainee Jean Wilson Brutus, a Haitian immigrant, after Delaney Hall reopened in May of last year. Brutus was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital in December after experiencing an undisclosed medical emergency at Delaney Hall, where he was held for a few days after his arrest by ICE officers.
ICE earlier this summer eliminated its prior requirement to report deaths of former detainees who died within 30 days of being released from the agency's custody, a policy decision that has worried immigration advocates, who say the move has reduced transparency and accountability at a time when ICE detainee deaths are at a record high. The quality of medical care at Delaney Hall has also been a long-standing concern.
“ICE — consistent with the entire ethos of the Trump administration — is dead set on avoiding public scrutiny and taking any accountability for its failures,” Menendez said in a statement, criticizing the agency’s decision to change its reporting requirements. “They can try to evade accountability, but the American people deserve answers and transparency.”
DHS has repeatedly defended the treatment it provides, saying detainees are provided with regular dietician-certified meals, water, blankets and quality medical care, claiming the agency’s detention standards are higher than most federal prisons holding U.S. citizens.
The DHS spokesperson said in Wednesday’s statement that an on-site nurse responded to Chajon-Raxon’s medical emergency on July 19, and that staff immediately called EMS. The nurse provided him medical care in the interim and gave the first responders a “comprehensive” report about his condition, according to the spokesperson.
