Jose Chajon-Raxon experienced seizure-like symptoms one day after arriving at the Newark immigration detention center.

Federal immigration authorities have released the name of a man who died last month after a medical emergency at Delaney Hall as Jose Chajon-Raxon, an undocumented immigrant from Guatemala.

The death, which went unreported until U.S. Rep. Rob Menendez learned of it and revealed details about it during an Aug. 3 press call, is the third confirmed death of an immigrant detained at the controversial Newark detention center.

A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said in an email to The Jersey Vindicator Wednesday afternoon that immigration authorities arrested Chajon-Raxon and processed him at Delaney Hall on July 18.

The following day, a nurse responded to an emergency call and found Chajon-Raxon “experiencing seizure-like activity,” the spokesperson wrote.

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Staff members called emergency medical services. Chajon-Raxon was transported to University Hospital in Newark. In the meantime, DHS said Chajon-Raxon “was provided proper medical care from the nurse, who reassured him he was safe.”

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement released Chajon-Raxon from its custody on July 22, according to the statement. The agency spokesperson said ICE was not told of his death. The spokesperson did not answer follow-up questions from The Jersey Vindicator.

“Per ICE policy, when an individual is no longer in ICE custody, then ICE will no longer be responsible for monitoring or reviewing deaths that may occur,” the spokesperson wrote. “This is common sense. ICE is not responsible when an individual passes away weeks after leaving their custody.”

The statement also said ICE “remains committed to transparency regarding detainee deaths.”

“This updated policy outlines procedures for timely notification, review, and reporting of deaths occurring in ICE custody, including notifying next of kin, consulates, Congress and the public,” the spokesperson wrote in an email to The Vindicator.

But ICE and DHS, its parent agency, did not respond to The Jersey Vindicator’s requests for information until Aug. 12, more than 10 days after Menendez told reporters about the death.

As The Vindicator previously reported, ICE provided Chajon-Raxon with a discretionary release before he was taken to University Hospital. He died shortly after arriving at the hospital, which raises questions about whether ICE was or wasn’t notified of Chajon-Raxon’s death.

Back when he learned of the death in early August, Menendez said ICE did not publicly disclose Chajon-Raxon’s death because the agency recently changed its reporting standards and dropped a Biden-era rule requiring it to review and report all detainee deaths, including those that occur after release.

Menendez issued a statement Wednesday night about the policy change.

“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.

“ICE purposely reversed a Biden-era policy to create a loophole in which it can ‘release’ someone from ICE custody and then claim it has no responsibility to investigate their death or inform Congress and the public. ICE is killing people on American streets and in detention centers across the country,” Menendez said. “They can try to evade accountability, but the American people deserve answers and transparency, which is exactly what I intend to deliver alongside my House Democratic colleagues.”

The congressman said he learned about Chajon-Raxon’s death on July 24 but had very little information, including the man’s name or other details.

Chajon-Raxon’s death, along with that of Edwin Jovanny Lopez-Cornejo, a 41-year-old Salvadoran man who died Aug. 1 after a similar medical emergency at the facility, has intensified scrutiny of Delaney Hall. The 1,000-bed facility on Doremus Avenue opened in May 2025.

Detainees have repeatedly complained about conditions at Delaney Hall, including foul water, inedible food, and medical neglect.

The private prison company GEO Group operates the facility under a 15-year, $1 billion contract with the federal government.