A Scripps News investigation found a dozen emergency medical calls at Delaney Hall leading up to the death. (Scripps News)

By: Patrick Terpstra

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Immigration and Customs Enforcement has announced the death of a 41-year-old Haitian immigrant who was detained at a New Jersey detention center.

Jean Wilson Brutus was booked into Delaney Hall in Newark on Dec. 11, showing "no signs of distress" with no reported history of cardiovascular issues.

A short time later, ICE says he suffered a medical emergency and was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead the next day.

ICE said Brutus' death was from "natural causes," and did not share additional details.

Brutus had entered the U.S. in 2023 and was given parole pending immigration hearings. He had been arrested for criminal trespassing three times in the past year, ICE reported.

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This week, Scripps News released an investigation that found concerns about medical care at Delaney Hall, one of the first ICE detention centers to open during President Trump's second term.

Records of 911 calls obtained in an open records request show 12 emergency calls to Delaney Hall for "sick or injured" persons in two months this fall.

The GEO Group, which owns and operates the site, has listed job postings for more medical personnel.

One detainee told Scripps News it can take weeks to see a doctor.

GEO Group and DHS both defended the medical care available to detainees, but DHS says it is in the process of trying to hire more health care workers to care for the growing population of ICE detainees across the country.

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This year is shaping up to be the deadliest year for ICE detainees in decades.

Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Washington State, says she has received notification of 30 detainees dying in custody since President Trump took office, almost triple the 11 detainees who died in 20-24.

The deaths this year have occurred as the number of detainees in custody awaiting legal proceedings has surged during President Trump's mass deportation push.

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