NEWARK, New Jersey — New Jersey has opened a civil rights investigation into Delaney Hall, the privately operated ICE detention center in Newark, following months of complaints about conditions and the recent death of a detainee.
Attorney General Jennifer Davenport announced the probe Friday and issued investigative subpoenas to GEO Group, the private prison company operating the facility under contract with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The state says detainees have reported spoiled food, unsanitary bathrooms, inadequate hygiene supplies and insufficient medical care.
The investigation follows the death of Edwin Lopez-Cornejo, an immigrant from El Salvador who suffered a medical emergency while detained. His family alleges he had diabetes, epilepsy and high blood pressure and lost substantial weight while in custody. ICE has not accepted those allegations as established fact, and his cause of death remains under review.
Delaney Hall has already been the subject of another state lawsuit after GEO Group allegedly denied New Jersey health inspectors full access to the facility. Gov. Mikie Sherrill has called for the center’s closure and said her own request to enter the facility was denied.
The latest inquiry will examine whether GEO employees violated detainees’ civil rights. DHS has disputed claims that conditions at Delaney Hall are unsafe or inhumane.
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