The family of Edwin Lopez-Cornejo say the 39-year-old dad had been in the U.S. for 20 years. But the Department of Homeland Security say he was undocumented.
Immigration advocates say that Lopez-Cornejo told his mother on Friday that he hadn't been receiving his proper medication for diabetes, high blood pressure and seizures.
Federal officials say staff responded immediately after discovering Lopez-Cornejo had a medical emergency and called 911.
His family says they did not act until he collapsed.
His mother said she received a call from the hospital Saturday night that Lopez-Cornejo had died. His family said neither they nor his lawyer were notified.
"He was an excellent son. He had a little girl and he was a good father. I have nothing bad to say about my son. He was a good father. He was my second child. And now I have lost him at the hands of ICE," said his mother, Maria. "I don't know how I'll heal from this pain, because losing my son leaves me with a very deep pain. These men go around grabbing hard-working people."
Democratic politicians and civil rights groups in New Jersey questioned whether the death was preventable, saying they had little confidence people detained at the 1000-bed facility were receiving proper care.
He is the second migrant to die at Delaney Hall in less than a year after Jean Wilson Brutus died in December 2025.
People held at the Newark facility have asked for improved living conditions and better medical care, as they say some are being denied medication. Earlier this year, some launched a hunger strike, according to Cosecha, an immigrant advocacy group.
The facility has also been a key flashpoint for protests against Trump's immigration crackdown, with demonstrators trying to block vehicles from entering or leaving the facility.
New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill, a Democrat, said her administration is working to better understand the facts surrounding his death.
"At the same time, we continue to face obstruction in our efforts to conduct a full health inspection of the facility," she said in a statement. "Every effort to block oversight raises serious questions about what is happening inside Delaney Hall and what those operating the facility are trying to hide."
(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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