Newark jail death is second of Haitian immigrant in ICE custody this year

A 41-year-old Haitian man who was detained at an immigration jail in Newark died one day after he was taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), according to the agency. The Dec. 12 death of Jean Wilson Brutus from “natural causes,” ICE said in a news statement, is the second reported fatality of a Haitian citizen in the agency’s custody this year and raises questions from advocates.

While at Delaney Hall in Newark, he experienced a “medical emergency,” the agency said in a statement. Emergency services were called, and Brutus was transported to University Hospital in Newark, where he was pronounced dead on Dec. 12, according to ICE.

“There’s a lot of questions that we need answers to,” Kathy O’Leary, an activist who regularly holds vigils outside the detention center, told a local news outlet, the New Jersey Monitor.

“Was he on medication that he wasn’t getting? Was he not given the correct medication? That’s something we frequently hear,” O’Leary said. “It’s pretty unusual to have a natural death at 41, so there’s a lot of questions about what happened and how he got there.”

Previous arrests, then a final detention

ICE said Brutus entered the U.S. through Texas in 2023. He was then paroled into the United States, pending immigration proceedings.

According to their account relayed in the Monitor report, the Elizabeth Police Department arrested and released Brutus four times between July 2024 and November 2025 for criminal trespassing. Immigration officials lodged a detainer and notified local police that they intended to take Brutus into federal custody, the agency said. Brutus was later released from the Union County jail without ICE being notified, according to the statement.

ICE said Brutus was arrested again on Nov. 28 on two counts of criminal mischief and released despite the detainer, they said. 

It is unclear whether he was convicted of any of the charges.

Immigration authorities arrested Brutus a final time on Dec. 11 and transferred him to Delaney Hall. While there, he experienced a medical emergency and local Emergency Medical Services was called. 

The agency said Brutus had shown no signs of distress during intake and had no documented medical history of cardiovascular issues. They attributed the death to “natural causes.”

O’Leary told The Monitor she was present when an ambulance arrived at the facility the week of Brutus’ death. She said she heard guards discussing a medical emergency over their walkie-talkies. The ambulance was delayed leaving the property because a van was dropping off new detainees, she said. However, she said, she did not learn of Brutus’ death until ICE released its statement. Thus, her questions.

Amy Torres, executive director of the New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice, criticized ICE for using its announcement of Brutus’ death to focus largely on the crimes he was accused of committing.

“Nothing that’s listed in that press release amounts to something that should become a death sentence. And yet, that’s what happened to him as soon as he was in ICE custody,” Torres told the Monitor.

Jail known for troubles since opening

The death marks the first reported fatality of a detainee at Delaney Hall since it opened earlier this year. One of the largest immigration detention centers in the country, it has made many headlines this year.

The first new immigrant jail announced during the second Trump administration, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was arrested there in May on a trespassing charge that was later dropped. Rep. LaMonica McIver is facing charges related to an alleged assault on federal agents during Baraka’s arrest. 

Last week, Sen. Cory Booker said in a statement that he is “deeply concerned” about Brutus’ death and  reiterated his opposition to private detention centers.

“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,” Booker said.

McIver called Brutus’ death an “outrage” and echoed calls for more transparency about his detention and medical care. She also said the facility should be shut down.

“This tragedy is not an isolated incident, and we have seen neglect, abuse and cruelty from this administration as they strip people of the rights this country affords everyone, including those in detention,” McIver said. “This incident demands immediate answers.”

Haitian woman died earlier while in ICE detention this year

The death is also the second known fatality of a Haitian national in ICE custody that the agency has reported this year, according to its Detainee Death Reporting page. On the site listing the names of immigrants who do not leave federal detention alive, the agency lists Marie Ange Blaise, 44.

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Her time in federal immigration custody began on Feb. 12,  when Customs and Border Protection (CBP) detained her in the U.S. Virgin Islands while she was trying to board a flight to Charlotte, North Carolina. CBP charged her with “removability,” and took Blaise to a local hospital for elevated blood pressure. 

Over the following two months, Blaise was transferred to four other detention facilities—the ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) facility in San Juan, Puerto Rico, another in Miami, the Richwood Correctional Center (RCC) in Oakdale, Los Angeles, and a fourth, the Broward Transitional Center (BTC), in Pompano Beach by April. 

Blaise fell further into illness during that time. According to the ICE report of her demise, she refused to comply with orders to take medication even as her conditions worsened and to eat. She died April 25.

Immigration advocates, including the Haitian Bridge Alliance, called for answers in her death.

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