FLASHBACK - Pro immigration activists continue to protest and clash with ICE agents outside the Delaney Hall Detention Facility on June 27, 2026 in Newark, New Jersey. While a hunger strike by detainees has ended, protestors continue to monitor the arrivals and departures of detained immigrants, and ICE agents continue to attack the protestors with pepper balls and bear spray. (Photo by Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images)

By NAN Staff Writer, NewsAmericas Now

News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Tues. Aug. 4, 2026: A Salvadoran immigrant died over the weekend at a troubled federal detention center in Newark, becoming the 55th immigrant to die in ICE custody since President Trump returned to office in January 2025 – a toll that includes at least two Haitian men whose deaths drew national scrutiny over medical neglect inside the system.

Edwin Lopez-Cornejo, 41, was pronounced dead Saturday at University Hospital in Newark after a medical emergency at the Delaney Hall detention center. ICE said staff called 911 immediately; the cause of death remains unknown. He is survived by a 12-year-old daughter. “He was a good father,” his mother, Maria Cornejo, said. “I don’t want other parents to know what I am living through. I want justice.”

Lopez-Cornejo is the second person to die at Delaney Hall in eight months. Newark Mayor Ras Baraka called it a repeat of “the unimaginable loss” families have already endured at the facility.

Two Haitian deaths that drew national attention

Among the 55 names on ICE’s own death registry are at least two Haitian nationals whose deaths became flashpoints in the broader debate over detention conditions.

Jean Wilson Brutus, 41, died on December 12, 2025, just one day after entering ICE custody at Delaney Hall – the facility’s first death since it reopened to accommodate the administration’s expanded detention capacity. ICE said he showed no signs of distress at intake and had no cardiovascular history; his family disputed that account, hired an attorney, and sought an independent autopsy after ICE’s stated cause of death shifted from “natural causes” to “unknown” to “inconclusive.” Guerline Jozef, executive director of the Haitian Bridge Alliance, called his death “the predictable outcome of a carceral immigration system designed to warehouse Black and Brown bodies out of sight.”

Emmanuel Damas, 56, a Haitian asylum seeker who had entered the U.S. legally through humanitarian parole in 2024, died in March after an untreated toothache spiraled into a fatal infection. A medical examiner later attributed his death to complications of necrotizing mediastinitis, stemming from severe dental disease that went unaddressed for weeks despite his repeated complaints. His death prompted Arizona Rep. Adelita Grijalva to renew calls for DHS Secretary Kristi Noem’s resignation, and drew more than 100 mourners to a memorial service in Boston, where a photo of Damas hung above his coffin reading, “We Can Take Care of a Toothache.”

A death toll that keeps climbing

ICE recorded 33 deaths in 2025 alone, according to its own data, the highest annual total in more than two decades and nearly triple the 11 recorded in 2024. The pace has continued into 2026, with names added to the registry roughly every two to three weeks.

Separately, Jesus Manuel Arenas-Silva, a 45-year-old Venezuelan national, died July 13th while being transferred by bus between two Georgia detention facilities, after being found unresponsive en route. His suspected cause of death was cardiac arrest, pending further examination.

ICE has consistently maintained that detainees receive comprehensive medical care from intake through their entire stay, including screenings within 12 hours of arrival and access to 24-hour emergency services. “At no time during detention is a detained noncitizen denied emergency care,” the agency said in a statement following Lopez-Cornejo’s death.

Families of the deceased, and advocacy groups like the Haitian Bridge Alliance, continue to argue otherwise.

List Of The Dead

Here are all the immigrants who have died in ICE custody since Donald Trump came into office per US ICE’s own published data:

Date of Death                        Name

August 1, 2026 Lopez-Cornejo, Edwin

July 13, 2026                         Arenas Silva, Jesus Manuel

June 24, 2026                       Florian, Adrian
June 19, 2026                       Alcorta-Rodriguez, Felix
June 4, 2026                         Artmeladze, Mamuka
April 28, 2026                       Adan Gonzalez, Denny
April 12, 2026                       Carbonell Betancourt, Aled
April 11, 2026                       Cabrera Clemente, Alejandro
April 1, 2026                         Bui, Tuan Van
March 25, 2026                     Ramos Solano, Jose Guadalupe
March 16, 2026                     Perez Jimenez, Royer
March 14, 2026                     Paktiawal, Mohammad Nazeer
March 2, 2026                       Damas, Emmanuel
March 1, 2026                       Najafabadi, Pejman Karshenas
February 27, 2026                 Gutierrez Reyes, Alberto
February 16, 2026                 Garcia Hernandez, Jairo
February 16, 2026                 Sim, Lorth
January 14, 2026                  Diaz, Victor Manuel
January 14, 2026                  Sanchez Dominguez, Heber
January 9, 2026                    La, Parady
January 6, 2026                    Yanez Cruz, Luis
January 5, 2026                    Nunez Caceres, Luis
January 3, 2026                     Lunas Campos, Geraldo
December 15, 2025                Gantchev, Nenko Stanev
December 14, 2025                 Francisco Rodriguez, Delvin
December 14, 2025                  Abdulkadir, Fouad Saeed
December 12, 2025                  Brutus, Jean Wilson
December 6, 2025                    Sachiwani, Shiraz Fateh Ali
December 5, 2025                     Montejo, Pete Sumalo
December 3, 2025                     Gaspar-Andres, Francisco
October 25, 2025                       Wong, Kai Yin
October 23, 2025                       Garcia-Aviles, Gabriel
October 23, 2025                       Castro Rivera, Jose
October 11, 2025                       Saleh, Hasan Ali Moh’d
October 4, 2025                         Cruz-Silva, Leo

September 30, 2025                  Garcia Hernandez, Miguel Angel
September 29, 2025                  Xie, Huabing
September 24, 2025                  Guzman Fuentes, Norlan
September 22, 2025                  Ayala Uribe, Ismael
September 18, 2025                  Reyes, Banegas
September 12, 2025                  Villegas Gonzalez, Silverio
September 8, 2025                    Duarte Rascon, Oscar
August 31, 2025                       Batrez Vargas, Lorenzo Antonio
August 5, 2025                         Ge, Chaofeng
July 19, 2025                           Phan, Tien Xuan
June 26, 2025                          Perez, Isidro
June 23, 2025                          Noviello, Johnny
June 7, 2025                            Molina-Veya, Jesus
May 5, 2025                            Avelleneda-Delgado, Abelardo
April 25, 2025                         Blaise, Marie Ange
April 16, 2025                    Nguyen, Nhon Ngoc

April 8, 2025                      Rayo-Garzon, Brayan
February 23, 2025              Tineo Martinez, Juan Alexis
February 20, 2025               Chernyak, Maksym
January 29, 2025                 Dejene, Serawit Gezahegn

NewsAmericasNow will continue tracking ICE custody deaths and their impact on Caribbean and immigrant communities.

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