Immigrant advocates rallied Saturday to demand answers and accountability from Immigration and Customs Enforcement following the death of a 39-year-old man in ICE custody at a New Jersey detention facility.
Edwin Jovanny Lopez-Cornejo died earlier this month while detained at Delaney Hall in Newark. His death was the third reported death at the facility this year, raising concerns among immigrant advocates and families of people currently detained there.
Rallygoers called for an independent investigation into Lopez-Cornejo’s death. Advocates said he was detained in June while on his way to work and alleged that he was denied medical attention.
“It feels enraging and we also hold a lot of grief for our family members that we lost. All these people should be alive. All these people should be here,” said Tanya Nunez of the Party for Socialism and Liberation.
Family members of other people detained at Delaney Hall also spoke at the rally.
“His daughter is completely distraught. That’s his life. His wife is completely distraught and doesn’t know what to do. So it’s taking my cousin and myself to advocate,” said Javier Curillo, whose family member is detained at the facility.
“This is an overwhelming sensation that not only our family is going through, but thousands of families are going to continue to go through,” Curillo added. “As we heard, [Temporary Protected Status] was just redacted, so now 350,000 Haitian migrants are subject to this violence. We cannot stand for this.”
Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, allows immigrants from certain countries to live and work legally in the United States. The Trump administration ended TPS protections for Haitians earlier this week.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced Friday that some Haitian city employees are no longer working for the city as a result. A City Hall spokesperson said a few dozen Haitian TPS holders were affected, mostly in the health care and construction industries.
The change has heightened concerns among immigrant communities about increased ICE enforcement and its potential effects on people who are living and working legally in the United States.
“These are mothers, fathers, these are sons, daughters. These are valuable members of our community and instead of going after instead of protecting our communities what the Trump administration is doing is unleashing ICE on our streets to cause more terror. To cause more harm,” said James Parra of the Party for Socialism and Liberation.
Lopez-Cornejo’s funeral was held Friday. He leaves behind a 12-year-old daughter and had been in ICE custody for more than a month before his death.
NY1 reached out to the Department of Homeland Security and ICE for comment.