DHS Defends Nondisclosure of Guatemalan Detainee Death Under 30-Day Release Rule
Updated
Updated · The Associated Press · Aug 13
DHS Defends Nondisclosure of Guatemalan Detainee Death Under 30-Day Release Rule
3 articles · Updated · The Associated Press · Aug 13
Summary
Jose Chajon-Raxon suffered a seizure on July 19, one day after entering Newark’s Delaney Hall, and DHS said ICE did not disclose his death because he had been released from custody on July 22.
The department said ICE was not notified after the hospital transfer and, under a policy changed earlier this year, no longer tracks or reports deaths that occur after release rather than within 30 days.
Rep. Rob Menendez called that change a loophole that lets ICE avoid investigating deaths or informing Congress and the public; he said Chajon-Raxon’s death surfaced only after he disclosed it last week.
Delaney Hall has already drawn protests and a hunger strike over conditions, and Chajon-Raxon is the third immigrant reported dead after detention linked to the Newark facility.