Third person dies at New Jersey immigration detention center

José Chajón-Raxón, a Guatemalan immigrant detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at the Delaney Hall facility in Newark, New Jersey, suffered a medical emergency and later died after being hospitalized. This marks the third death among immigrants held at Delaney Hall since the facility reopened in May 2025 amid the Trump administration's immigration crackdown.

Chajón-Raxón was arrested on July 18 and was released from ICE custody on July 22, four days after his arrest. However, the specifics surrounding his release and the events following his hospitalization remain unclear. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) stated that ICE ceases monitoring and reviewing deaths once an individual is no longer in their custody, a policy reversal from previous administrations.

This has raised concerns, particularly after US Representative Rob Menendez criticized the change, arguing it constitutes a loophole that absolves ICE of responsibility for investigating deaths or informing Congress and the public. Chajón-Raxón's death follows two other documented cases of immigrants dying at the same facility: Edwin López-Cornejo, a man from El Salvador, and Jean Wilson Brutus, a Haitian man.

These deaths underscore ongoing concerns about medical care and conditions within immigration detention centers. Over 50 people have died in ICE custody since Donald Trump's administration began, and rights groups have long criticized the lack of adequate medical care and living conditions in these facilities. The Delaney Hall complex has become a focal point for protests, including a recent hunger and labor strike by detainees and separate protests by women held in a specific unit.

Their demands include improvements to conditions and calls for ICE to release young women, those with medical conditions, and mothers. Despite these issues, ICE maintains that detainees are provided with appropriate medical care.