Guatemalan man dies after seizure at New Jersey detention center, DHS cites policy shift
Aug 27, 2026·Location: Newark, NJ
Country of origin: Guatemala
José Efraín Chajón Raxón, a Guatemalan national, was detained by federal immigration agents during a raid in Passaic, New Jersey, one of at least 15 people taken into custody in the city that day as part of a broader sweep that detained at least 75 people in July, including one U.S. citizen. He was transferred to the Delaney Hall ICE detention facility in Newark, where he suffered seizures and a medical emergency. He was released from ICE custody roughly a day and a half after the seizures began, then died at nearby University Hospital. His death was the second reported death linked to Delaney Hall in less than a month, and it went unreported for weeks because new rules stop recording deaths occurring shortly after release from ICE custody. His body was repatriated to his hometown of San Juan Sacatepéquez, Guatemala, where his community held vigils and a funeral. Community members said the wave of arrests emptied streets, parks, and businesses in the majority-Latino town.
Sources
- DHS cites recent policy shift after not disclosing death of Guatemalan man who had been in custody
Associated Press·Aug 13, 2026·archived copy
au.news.yahoo.com·Aug 13, 2026·archived copy
nz.news.yahoo.com·Aug 13, 2026·archived copy
- Immigrant detained at ICE facility in New Jersey died after medical emergency
NBC News·Aug 13, 2026·archived copy
- Third person dies at New Jersey immigration detention center
The Guardian·Aug 13, 2026
- Congressman Makes Stunning Allegation After Visiting ICE’s Delaney Hall
HuffPost·Aug 4, 2026·archived copy
- Third detainee dies after medical emergency at New Jersey ICE facility
nz.news.yahoo.com·Aug 13, 2026
- Documented
- Documented
- Documented
- Video shows a New Jersey man asking ICE to check his ID before detaining him, but agents refused and took him into custody anyway | Attack of the Fanboy
attackofthefanboy.com·Jul 19, 2026
- tech-oracle.com
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