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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