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New Jersey is launching a civil rights investigation into Delaney Hall, the state’s largest immigration detention facility, following reports of poor conditions and deaths, state officials announced Friday.
The New Jersey Division on Civil Rights issued subpoenas involving the center, privately owned by GEO Group, to examine whether its staff violated detainees’ civil rights — alleging inhumane treatment and failure to provide proper medical care.
“New Jersey has a legal and a moral duty to stand up for the civil rights of people in our State,” New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport said in a statement. “We ask individuals to share their personal experiences with us so that we can take action to ensure that rights are protected.”
The probe comes days after Edwin Lopez-Cornejo, a 41-year-old Salvadorian man, died after suffering a “medical emergency” while being detained at Delaney Hall. His family claimed the facility did not allow him consistent access to medication used to treat his ongoing health conditions.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin confirmed the cause of death as cardiac arrest but claimed the detainee had “no medical records of cardiac problems.“
Mullin added that Lopez Cornejo was on a diet and given medication for his hypertension and diabetes diagnoses.
Davenport’s office said it could also pursue civil enforcement action under state law if the investigation uncovers violations committed by the facility and by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill (D) said the investigation was a “necessary course of action” after accusing the facility of “stonewalling efforts for real oversight.”
The Sherrill administration sued the GEO Group in June after alleging state health inspectors were blocked from accessing the facility.
“We will not tolerate a facility that abdicates any transparency and accountability. I have long opposed private detention facilities, and my position is clear that Delaney Hall should be closed,” Sherrill said in a statement Friday. “My administration will continue to do everything in our power to hold ICE and The GEO Group accountable to New Jersey laws.”
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