Delegation demands records and answers about three immigrant detainee deaths connected to Delaney Hall

New Jersey’s nine Democratic members of Congress are demanding that federal officials close Delaney Hall and provide a full accounting of three deaths connected to the controversial Newark immigration detention center.

The lawmakers sent a letter Thursday to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and acting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director David Venturella, accusing the agencies of ignoring repeated warnings about medical care at the GEO Group-run facility.

“Three deaths connected to a single detention facility are not isolated incidents,” the lawmakers wrote. “They are a red, flashing warning light that ICE continues to ignore.”

The letter comes after revelations that two more people died after being held at Delaney Hall, including Edwin Lopez-Cornejo, a 41-year-old Salvadoran immigrant who suffered a medical emergency at the facility.

Another, still-unidentified detainee died at University Hospital in late July after experiencing a medical emergency at Delaney Hall. ICE did not publicly report that death because the detainee had been released from its custody before dying, according to U.S. Rep. Rob Menendez.

The lawmakers said allegations of delayed emergency treatment, problems receiving prescribed medications, untreated chronic illnesses, infectious disease outbreaks, and inadequate care for medically vulnerable detainees have persisted for months.

“Three deaths, repeated allegations of medical neglect, restricted oversight, and less public transparency are a terrible track record of care for individuals in your custody,” they wrote. “At this point, the question is no longer whether ICE knows what is happening inside Delaney Hall. It is, ‘why does ICE continue to allow the GEO Group to put lives at risk?’”

The letter was signed by Reps. Analilia Mejia, Bonnie Watson Coleman, LaMonica McIver, Rob Menendez, Frank Pallone, Donald Norcross, Nellie Pou, Herb Conaway, and Josh Gottheimer.

The delegation criticized ICE for rescinding a policy requiring public reporting and congressional notification when someone dies within 30 days of release from the agency’s custody.

Lawmakers gave DHS and ICE until Aug. 12 to provide records detailing the three deaths, medical care provided, inspections and mortality reviews, staffing assessments, corrective action plans, and internal communications concerning medical care at Delaney Hall. They also want information about any action ICE has taken against GEO Group and a commitment to give members of Congress and New Jersey health officials unrestricted access to the facility.

“The repeated deaths and documented failures at Delaney Hall make clear that the facility is fundamentally unsafe,” the lawmakers wrote. “Delaney Hall should be closed immediately.”