Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin on Wednesday dismissed outcry about a detainee’s recent death at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in New Jersey, arguing that the case was handled according to protocol.
Edwin Lopez-Cornejo was an illegal immigrant from El Salvador who died at Delaney Hall last week. The death was credited to a standard cardiac episode, but it has stoked controversy as the ICE facility has been accused of inhumane conditions by critics in the past.
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Amid rising outcry from Democratic lawmakers in the area and progressive groups, Mullin said this week that officials did “a great job” handling Lopez-Cornejo’s medical emergency. The Salvadoran was taking medication to handle his diabetes and had hypertension, but had no medical history of heart problems before suffering a cardiac arrest around 1:52 p.m. on Aug. 1, Mullin said during a NewsNation interview. Authorities “immediately” called 911 and then started doing CPR around 2:13 p.m, before EMS took custody and transported him to a local hospital, Mullin added.
“He died at the hospital, not in our custody,” Mullin, who runs the agency that oversees ICE, continued. “We do a great job. We meet federal standards and exceed federal standards.”
Mullin’s statement comes after New Jersey’s governor and both of its U.S. senators, all of whom are Democrats, reiterated calls for Delaney Hall to be shut down after Lopez-Cornejo’s death. The criticism has grown since last week, with the Hispanic Federation, Reps. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) and Delia Ramirez (D-IL), and New York Democratic House candidate Micah Lasher, among those who called on Wednesday for Delaney Hall to be shut down, and questioned the circumstances of the death.
“Edwin López Cornejo’s death is inexcusable,” Ramirez said in a post to X. “From Campbell County Detention Center to Delaney Hall, it is clear that ICE has no intention of providing the medical care required by law.”
Protests at the facility have been ongoing, with Lasher saying over 100 people demonstrated at Delaney Hall on Tuesday.
DELANEY HALL PROTESTS COORDINATED LARGELY BY REVOLUTIONARY-LEFT ORGANIZATIONS
Mullin shot back at critics, saying that conditions at ICE facilities are far better than those in state prisons.
“It’s interesting that, especially if you start looking at New Jersey, we have these individuals that are protesting Delaney Hall because they said the facilities aren’t adequate, but they’re better than state-run facilities,” Mullin said. “Our death rate is half, actually a lot less than half, than the state prisons.”
