‘Cruelty is at its core’: Rep. LaMonica McIver speaks out after another detainee dies at NJ’s Delaney Hall
TheGrio...
The death of Edwin Lopez Cornejo is the second at the privately-owned detention center since it reopened last year.
Delaney Hall, the Newark, New Jersey, facility used to house those who have been detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, is once again at the center of controversy.
Edwin Jeovanny Lopez Cornejo, a Plainfield, New Jersey resident, was taken to the hospital on August 1, where he later died. His death marks the second recorded death at the detention center that became a flashpoint in President Trump’s escalation of immigration enforcement, as the government has equipped ICE with a multi-billion-dollar budget that surpasses the militaries of all but 15 countries globally.
“Reports that another person has died in ICE custody at Delaney Hall are heartbreaking and deeply disturbing—but tragically, they’re not unexpected. This is a pattern of abuse and neglect,” Rep. LaMonica McIver said in a statement.
She added, “I know about Delaney Hall and I know that cruelty is at its core. Even after the deaths, violence, abuse, and mistreatment of those inside, Republican leaders, even in our own state, deny the truth and refuse to act. Anyone who doesn’t see these heinous acts for what they are is choosing to do so.
“I am praying for the deceased and his family, and I will keep working to shut down Delaney Hall and abolish ICE before more innocent lives are lost.”
Lopez Cornejo, who was the father of a 12-year-old girl, according to his mother, had been in the country for 20 years when ICE agents detained him on June 18. According to a conversation with his mother, he had diabetes and epilepsy and took medication for his diabetes, high blood pressure and seizures.
The 1,000-bed detention center has garnered national attention due to reports of officials’ alleged treatment of detainees, including abuse and medical neglect. Last December, 41-year-old Jean Wilson Brutus, a Haitian national, was detained at the facility on December 12 and died the same day. ICE officials have stated Brutus died of natural causes.
Last June, McIver was indicted on federal charges alleging that she impeded and interfered with ICE officials as Newark’s mayor, Ras Baraka, attempted to join a congressional oversight hearing at the privately-owned facility. McIver has pleaded not guilty and faces up to 17 years in prison, yet feels as if it is a legal battle she is fighting without the support of the Democratic Party.
“I’m tired. I mean, honestly, I’m tired in the moment,” McIver said during a fireside chat last month. “It is horrible. It’s a horrible situation. It is so time-consuming. It’s so stressful. It is honestly unbelievable. It’s still shocking that me, as a member of Congress who is there simply doing my job, is going through this.
“I’m in this journey alone. I’m thankful for the people who have my back, who helped me raise the dollars thus far … But at the end of the day, why should someone from the Democratic Party, literally from the Democratic Party, be struggling to get just a million dollars … to fight this case? Why is that so hard?”