A third person detained at Delaney Hall in New Jersey died after having a seizure and was transported to a nearby hospital, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
The death of Jose Chajon-Raxon, from Guatemala, in July, shortly after he was processed into Delaney Hall, raises serious questions about both the conditions at the facility and ICE’s recent decision to stop publicly reporting the deaths of those detained once they were released.
DHS said they did not initially make a statement because he had been released and was not legally required to report his death, and new laws do not require them to report his death.
“Per ICE policy, when an individual is no longer in ICE custody, then ICE will no longer be responsible for monitoring or reviewing deaths that may occur. This is common sense,” DHS wrote in a statement. “ICE is not responsible when an individual passes away weeks after leaving their custody.”
In the same statement, DHS also wrote that “Being in detention is a choice” and encouraged “illegal aliens” to use the U.S. Customs and Border Protection app to self-deport and cash in on a $2600 and free one-way flight offer.
Significance. Chajon-Raxon was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on July 18 and suffered a seizure a day later while in ICE custody at Delaney Hall, according to AP.
AP reports that DHS officials said Chajon-Raxon was “taken to the hospital and released from ICE custody on July 22.”
The exact date, details on the cause of death, and location of his death were not shared by DHS.
Overlooked angle. In June, the agency changed its policy and no longer requires ICE to report deaths of detainees once they are released from its custody.
U.S. Rep. Rob Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat who has routinely visited Delaney Hall, said the policy change creates a “loophole” where the agency can release someone from its custody and then “claim it has no responsibility to investigate their death or inform Congress and the public,” to the AP.
Activists and lawmakers, including Rep. LaMonica McIver, have been ringing the alarm on the conditions in Delaney Hall since it reopened in May 2025. McIver visited the detention center with other New Jersey Democratic government officials, including Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, Rep. Menendez, and Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman.
On May 9, 2025, Baraka was arrested by Department of Homeland Security agents, which led to a physical altercation involving McIver and the other New Jersey delegates. Ultimately, McIver, who is pregnant, was charged and faces up to 17 years in prison. She is appealing the charges.
The power structure. Delaney Hall has drawn large criticism for its alleged medical neglect and inhumane conditions.
“All detainees are provided with proper meals certified by dietitians, as well as quality water, blankets, medical treatment, and opportunities to communicate with their family members and lawyers. In fact, ICE has higher detention standards than most U.S. prisons that hold actual U.S. citizens,” DHS wrote, adding, “It is a longstanding practice to provide comprehensive medical care from the moment an alien enters ICE custody. This includes medical, dental, and mental health services as available, and access to medical appointments and 24-hour emergency care.”
Those held at Delaney Hall tell a vastly different tale.
In a dispatch signed by 300 people detained in Delaney Hall titled “S.O.S.,” those who have been detained claim that people with “diagnoses of illnesses such as HIV. cancer, diabetes, heart problems, among others, … are not receiving proper medical attention for the aforementioned conditions.”
They wrote: “We are being tortured physically and psychologically due to the poor food resources provided in these detention centers.”
The Emancipator reached out to ICE and the Department of Homeland Security for comment on the allegations of medical neglect and abuse at Delaney Hall. They have previously denied any abuse or mistreatment in detention facilities.
The letter, written and released in May of this year, called for public help addressing the inhumane and unjust conditions inside Delaney Hall and other detention centers across the nation.
The “S.O.S.” letter is one of the five letters written by immigrants in Delaney Hall. The Emancipator is publishing the remaining letters as part of an ongoing series.
“I know about Delaney Hall, and I know that cruelty is at its core,” McIver previously said in a statement on August 3, following the second death of a person detained at Delaney Hall. “Even after the deaths, violence, abuse, and mistreatment of those inside, Republican leaders, even in our own state, deny the truth and refuse to act. Anyone who doesn’t see these heinous acts for what they are is choosing to do so.”
