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A man from El Salvador has died at an immigration prison in New Jersey that has been the target of months of protests over living conditions for people detained there, federal officials said late on Monday.
Edwin Lopez-Cornejo, 41, had been held at Delaney Hall in Newark after being arrested 18 June, according to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Lopez-Cornejo, whom the government accused of entering the US illegally, died on Saturday, the agency said. His official cause of death will be released following further medical examination, according to ICE.
Democratic politicians and civil rights groups in New Jersey questioned whether the death was preventable, saying they had little confidence people detained at the 1000-bed facility were receiving proper care.
“This is not the first death of a detainee at Delaney Hall and absent decisive action, it will not be the last,” Democratic Senator Cory Booker said in a statement.
“I have visited the facility myself and witnessed these conditions firsthand, so I say this plainly: Delaney Hall must be closed immediately and permanently.”
ICE said Lopez-Cornejo “received proper medical care and was seen by medical professionals” while he was in custody.
The death is the second at Delaney Hall since the beginning of President Donald Trump’s second term, according to tracking by the Associated Press news agency.
Another 41-year-old man, Jean Wilson Brutus, a Haitian national, died suddenly after collapsing in December in what a medical examiner ruled was a natural death due to a lung blockage.
In all, at least 56 people have died in ICE custody during Trump’s second term. Lopez-Cornejo is the second native of El Salvador, following the September death of Norlan Guzman-Fuentes, who was killed during a sniper attack on an ICE field office in Dallas.
People held at the Newark facility have asked for improved living conditions and better medical care, as they say some are being denied medication. Earlier this year, some launched a hunger strike, according to Cosecha, an immigrant advocacy group.
The facility has also been a key flashpoint for protests against Trump’s immigration crackdown, with demonstrators trying to block vehicles from entering or leaving the facility.
Trump and his deputies have defended the centre’s operations and denied there is any hunger strike, abuse or poor conditions inside.
The facility is owned by Geo Group, a private prison contractor that runs multiple detention centres across the country. The contractor did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment.
New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill, a Democrat, said her administration is working to better understand the facts surrounding his death.
“At the same time, we continue to face obstruction in our efforts to conduct a full health inspection of the facility,” she said in a statement.
“Every effort to block oversight raises serious questions about what is happening inside Delaney Hall and what those operating the facility are trying to hide.”
Additional sources • AP