Rep. Rob Menendez says he has learned of third detainee death at Delaney Hall
NEWARK, New Jersey (WABC) -- U.S. Rep. Rob Menendez says he has learned of a third death connected to Delaney Hall, and he only found out about it during an unannounced oversight visit to the ICE facility earlier this week.
The death is believed to have happened two weeks ago when the detainee had a seizure during intake at Delaney Hall.
He was released from ICE custody on the spot and sent to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.
ICE is required to notify Congress and the public if someone dies in their custody, but technically, according to ICE, the third death did not happen there.
"In their custody is a particular way of thinking that ICE has in terms of people that are in their custody, but they can release them on a discretionary basis," Menendez said. "Once they do so, they're no longer responsible for even reporting the death."
Menendez said he became aware of the third death during an unannounced oversight visit after the death of Edwin Lopez-Cornejo on Saturday.
Federal authorities told Lopez-Cornejo's family that the 39-year-old died after being transported from the facility, but family members believe he had already died before arriving at the hospital.
"There's the information that ICE provides and then what I've often found to be a separate reality that we hear from the detained individuals, their families and advocates, and they often don't line up," Menendez said. "I personally choose to believe the detained individuals, their families, rather than ICE."
On Thursday afternoon, Eyewitness News cameras were rolling when emergency medical crews responded to two separate calls at Delaney Hall.
A patient was taken away on a stretcher at about 12:30 p.m. About an hour later, another ambulance arrived and transported a second patient.
The medical conditions of the patients and whether they were detainees were not yet known.
In a statement, an ICE spokesperson said one detainee was transported to the hospital for precautionary reasons on Aug. 6, while another returned to Delaney Hall by ambulance.
"It is routine operations to transport detainees to the hospital for various medical concerns. After aliens receive treatment outside the detention facility, they will return to the facility upon discharge," the spokesperson said.
ICE also said it has a longstanding practice of providing medical care to people in its custody, including medical, dental and mental health services, as available, along with access to medical appointments and 24-hour emergency care.
"This is the best healthcare than many aliens have received in their lives," the ICE spokesperson said.
Meanwhile, on the Senate floor Thursday afternoon, Senator Cory Booker called for the closure of the detention center.
"I am now asking for unanimous consent to pass the Delaney Hall Closure Act that would close Delaney Hall within 90 days," he said. "They're out of excuses. We are out of time. How many more people should die."
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