Jean Wilson Brutus, a 41-year-old Haitian national in ICE custody, suffered a medical emergency and died just one day after he arrived at Delaney Hall in Newark, according to federal officials.
Brutus is believed to be the first detainee to die at Delaney Hall since the troubled, privately run detention center opened in May. It’s since been met with scrutiny and outrage as conditions inside — including insufficient meals, lack of drinking water and freezing temperatures — remain hazardous, critics claims.
Brutus suddenly fell ill shortly after arriving at the facility on Dec. 11, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said in a statement on Friday. Emergency services were called and he was rushed to University Hospital in Newark, where he died from “suspected natural causes” the following day.
ICE said he did not appear in distress when being admitted to Delaney Hall and had no medical history of cardiovascular issues.
An Eyes on ICE volunteer who was visiting another inmate at the time said she overheard a person on a guard’s walkie talkie call for an ambulance, saying that someone in intake was having a seizure.
“Immediately afterwards, guards were instructed to switch their devices to a different channel,” said Melissa Munoz, who uses an alias to continue visiting detainees without facing retribution.
Witnesses also said the ambulance taking Brutus to the hospital was delayed for “five life-saving minutes” at the Delaney Hall gate as employees prioritized a van of newly detained people coming into the facility.
“I’m furious that this has happened,” said Alison Perkon, another volunteer with Eyes on ICE, who regularly pickets outside Delaney Hall. “I have said repeatedly that someone was going to die here soon. … (Last week), that fear was realized.”
Politicians and advocacy groups are now demanding immediate answers on what happened, as well as why it took a week for ICE to announce Brutus’ “disturbing” death. Policy requires ICE to inform the public of a detainee’s death by posting a new release on its website within two business days.
“We’ve heard about ICE detainees across the country being denied treatment and medication. I want to know exactly what happened, the circumstances of this individual’s confinement and treatment, and what care he did or did not receive,” said New Jersey Rep. LaMonica McIver, who was arrested by federal agents in May while attempting to conduct a legally protected inspection of Delaney Hall.
U.S. Sen. Cory Booker said that he for months has “condemned the inhumane conditions at Delaney Hall and the mismanagement of this facility by its private operator, GEO Group,” adding that he opposes “private detention centers in any form.”
“The Department of Homeland Security’s continued refusal to comply with appropriate oversight of this facility and the GEO Group’s abuses are totally unacceptable,” Booker said in a statement. “There must be a clear accounting of what happened in this tragedy, and Delaney Hall must be closed so that this stain can be removed from our community of Newark.”
According to ICE, Brutus was undocumented and entered the United States on June 20, 2023 by way of the Hidalgo Port of Entry in Texas. He eventually settled in New Jersey, where he was arrested by the Elizabeth Police Department on criminal mischief charges four times between July 2023 and Nov. 19, 2025.
Upon his most recent arrest, immigration officials lodged a detainer, alerting local police they intended to take Brutus into federal custody.
He was released despite this, but was once again taken into custody on two counts of criminal mischief on Nov. 28, and then again released. He was finally captured by ICE on Dec. 11, the day before his death.
Brutus was one of four men detained by ICE to die in custody across the country between Dec. 12 and Dec 15. The others were 39, 46 and 56 years old, and were being held in detention facilities in Mississippi, Pennsylvania and Michigan. Their deaths were similarly announced past the two-day deadline.
In 2025, 23 people have so far died in ICE custody, making it the deadliest year for detainees since since 2004, according to the American Immigration Council.
