Mullin reveals cause of latest death at New Jersey ICE facility

Administration Mullin reveals cause of latest death at New Jersey ICE facility Comments: by Ashleigh Fields - 08/04/26 4:57 PM ET Comments: Link copied by Ashleigh Fields - 08/04/26 4:57 PM ET Comments: Link copied

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Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin on Tuesday said the latest death at the Delaney Hall detention center for immigrants was caused by cardiac arrest.

Edwin Lopez-Cornejo, a 41-year-old detainee from El Salvador, was pronounced dead on Saturday by medical personnel at a local hospital.

“It was a cardiac arrest. The gentleman had been repatriated. He had already been shipped back once. He came back illegally. We had him in custody. He had no medical records of cardiac problems,” Mullin told NewsNation’s Ali Bradley in an exclusive interview.

Mullin added that Lopez-Cornejo was on a diet after being diagnosed with hypertension and diabetes.

“He had medication for that. He had a cardiac arrest during lunch at like 1:52. We immediately called 911. Started doing a CPR on him at 2, roughly around 2:13. EMT showed up, took custody of him, transported him to the hospital, and he died at the hospital, not in our custody,” Mullin said.

“That at the hospital pronounced dead just after 3:30. So, you know, people get sick. Cardiac arrest happens all the time. My dad is 52 years old. It takes place, but the fact is, the gentleman had already been deported once. He shouldn’t even been back over here to begin with, but he was in our custody, and we can’t control your help. But we tried to fix it if you know,” he added.

Lopez-Cornejo is one of multiple detainees who have either died in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or soon after.

In January, Luis Gustavo Nunez Caceres, 42, was one of the first four detainees pronounced dead in 2026 after being treated for chronic heart-related health issues while in U.S. custody.

Severe stress can trigger sudden cardiac arrest or a heart attack by flooding the body with adrenaline, causing dangerous heart rhythms, and constricting blood vessels, according to research.

Activists and Democratic lawmakers have criticized the conditions at multiple detention centers including Delaney Hall. A series of protests outside the facility in Newark caused police to issue a curfew around the site earlier this year.

Lopez-Cornejo’s mother, Maria, said she’s devastated by his death in ICE custody.

“I’m destroyed,” Maria Cornejo said in an interview in Spanish published by The New Jersey Monitor. “I never imagined this would happen. I don’t even have the words to string together to say how I feel. I’m so heartbroken. I’ve never felt pain this deep before. He was a good son.”

Mullin says the administration is pushing forward with mass deportation efforts.

“The fact is, we are fighting against illegals harder than we ever have, and we’re not going to stop. There is no room, zero room for illegals here. If they are here illegally, go home, or we will arrest you and send you,” Mullin told Bradley.

“Mullin is the wrong guy at the wrong time for the wrong job — a time when we need focus on ‘mass deportations,’ we get an amnesty advocate,” he added.

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