Guatemalan Man Died After Medical Emergency at ICE Facility in New Jersey — Agency Says It Doesn’t Have to Report Deaths After Release
Jose Chajon-Raxon, an immigrant from Guatemala, died in late July after experiencing a seizure-like medical emergency while detained at the Delaney Hall ICE facility in Newark, New Jersey. Federal officials confirmed his death this week — but only after a Democratic congressman publicly accused the agency of releasing detainees to avoid reporting their deaths.
Chajon-Raxon was taken into custody at Delaney Hall on July 18. The next day, a nurse responded to a medical emergency and witnessed him “experiencing seizure-like activity,” according to the Department of Homeland Security. He was taken to a hospital and released from ICE custody on July 22. The agency did not state when he died or what caused his death.
ICE said it was not required to report the death because Chajon-Raxon was no longer in custody when it happened. The agency changed its policy earlier this year to stop tracking or reporting deaths of people who were recently released from detention.
“ICE is not responsible when an individual passes away weeks after leaving their custody,” a DHS spokesperson said in a statement. The agency called the policy change “common sense.”
Democratic U.S. Representative Rob Menendez accused ICE of using the policy change to dodge accountability. “ICE purposely reversed a Biden-era policy to create a loophole in which it can ‘release’ someone from ICE custody and then claim it has no responsibility to investigate their death or inform Congress and the public,” Menendez said in a statement.
“ICE is killing people on American streets and in detention centers across the country,” he added. “They can try to evade accountability, but the American people deserve answers and transparency.”
Menendez visited the Delaney Hall facility on August 3 — before ICE publicly confirmed Chajon-Raxon’s identity — and told reporters he had received “conflicting information” about an unreported death linked to the facility. He said the man “had lost consciousness, most likely it was a seizure” and that University Hospital determined the person had experienced a seizure upon intake.
Delaney Hall has come under repeated scrutiny following multiple detainee deaths. Edwin Lopez-Cornejo, a man from El Salvador, died this month after a medical emergency while detained there. Jean Wilson Brutus, a man from Haiti, died at the facility in December. Rights groups and Democratic lawmakers have raised concerns about medical care and living conditions at the facility.
More than 50 people have died in ICE custody nationwide since President Donald Trump took office in January 2025, according to the reporting. Human Rights Watch and Physicians for Human Rights reported that 52 people died in ICE custody between Trump’s inauguration and June 4, 2026 — the highest mortality rate seen in more than a decade, according to those organizations.
The deaths have drawn criticism from immigrant-rights advocates, attorneys, and medical experts, who argue that overcrowding, inadequate medical care, and reduced oversight have contributed to preventable deaths. The ACLU, Human Rights Watch, and other organizations have called for greater transparency and accountability in detention facilities.
ICE has pushed back on those claims, saying detainees receive “comprehensive medical, dental and mental health care” and that every in-custody death is “thoroughly reviewed and investigated.” The agency said in its statement that detainees are provided with “proper meals certified by dieticians, as well as quality water, blankets, medical treatment, and have 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,” the spokesperson said.
The Breakdown
- Jose Chajon-Raxon was detained at the Delaney Hall ICE facility in Newark, New Jersey, on July 18, 2026.
- On July 19, he experienced a medical emergency described as “seizure-like activity.” A nurse responded, and he was taken to a hospital.
- ICE released him from custody on July 22. He died sometime after that — the agency did not state when or what caused his death.
- ICE changed its policy earlier this year to stop reporting deaths of people who were released from custody before dying, even if the death happened shortly after release.
- Democratic Representative Rob Menendez accused ICE of using the policy change as a “loophole” to avoid reporting deaths and accountability.
- More than 50 people have died in ICE custody nationwide since President Trump took office in January 2025, according to the material — the highest rate in more than a decade, according to Human Rights Watch and Physicians for Human Rights.
What This Means for You
President Trump’s immigration enforcement is a policy set by an elected official — the one whose name is on the ballot when you vote for President. How his administration runs detention facilities, who dies in custody or shortly after release, and whether the public gets to know about it are all choices made by people answerable to voters. When an agency changes its rules to stop reporting certain deaths, that’s not a bureaucratic technicality — it’s a decision about what you get to see when you judge whether the administration you elected is doing its job responsibly. If you’re weighing how Trump has used executive power, this is part of that record.
What to Watch
Representative Menendez said he intends to demand answers and transparency from ICE “alongside my House Democratic colleagues.” Whether Congress actually gets those answers — whether through hearings, investigations, or public pressure — depends on whether enough members push for it and whether the administration cooperates. The policy change Menendez called a “loophole” is still in effect, which means future deaths of people released shortly after detention may also go unreported unless the rule is reversed or overridden. Watch whether this becomes a sustained accountability push or fades after the initial statement.
ICE’s own statement that it has “higher detention standards than most U.S. prisons” raises a question worth naming directly: if that’s true, why are deaths in ICE custody running at the highest rate in more than a decade? The agency says every in-custody death is thoroughly reviewed, but the material doesn’t describe any such review being made public or any findings being shared with families or Congress. A review that no one outside the agency sees is not the same thing as accountability — it’s a process that could be rigorous or could be window-dressing, and the public has no way to tell the difference. That opacity is itself worth watching.
