Overview
- Edwin Jovanny Lopez Cornejo, 41, was taken from Delaney Hall to University Hospital after a medical emergency and was pronounced dead on Saturday, August 1, 2026.
- ICE and DHS say facility staff and medical personnel responded, he was transported to the hospital, and standard notifications were made to oversight offices, the El Salvador consulate and next of kin.
- Family members and immigrant advocates say Lopez-Cornejo lived with diabetes, high blood pressure and seizures and allege he was not receiving prescribed medications while detained.
- The death is the second at Delaney Hall since it reopened in May 2025 and comes as media tallies report more than 50 deaths in ICE custody during the administration, fueling wider concern about medical care and transparency.
- State officials and members of Congress have renewed calls for investigations and closure, the New Jersey attorney general's lawsuit seeking inspection remains active, and a formal medical exam is pending to determine an official cause of death.