Jose Chajon-Raxon, a Guatemalan man, died after being released from a private immigration jail, a death the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) now refuses to monitor or report due to a new policy. He suffered a seizure on July 19, same month, a day after being processed into Delaney Hall, a facility operated by the private prison contractor Geo Group in Newark. DHS officials stated Chajon-Raxon was “taken to the hospital and released from ICE custody on July 22,” also same month.
The department offered no further details on what happened after he went to the hospital, when he died, or if he was released from the hospital before his death. “Per ICE policy, when an individual is no longer in ICE custody then ICE will no longer be responsible for monitoring or reviewing deaths that may occur. This is common sense,” the DHS statement declared.
This stance follows a policy change announced earlier this year, same year, which rescinds a five-year-old policy implemented by the Biden administration in 2021. The new rule means the agency no longer reports deaths that occur within 30 days of someone’s release from custody, directly obscuring the human cost of detention.
Profits Over Lives
Delaney Hall, the facility where Chajon-Raxon was held, is owned by Geo Group. This private prison contractor profits directly from the incarceration of migrants, operating multiple detention centers across the country. Geo Group did not immediately respond to requests for comment regarding the death.
U.S. Rep. Rob Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat, described the policy change as a “loophole” allowing the agency to avoid accountability. He stated ICE is “dead set on avoiding public scrutiny and taking any accountability for its failures,” attributing this to the “entire ethos of the Trump Administration.” Menendez’s comments, while critical, frame the issue as a failure of transparency rather than a systemic feature of private, for-profit detention.
Menendez disclosed Chajon-Raxon’s death last week, following the death of another detainee in early August, same month, under similar circumstances. That person was also granted a “discretionary release” from custody after losing consciousness in a hospital, dying shortly afterward.
Resistance to the System
Delaney Hall has been the site of sustained resistance. Immigration advocates have staged “fierce protests” in recent months, with demonstrators at times attempting to block vehicles from entering or leaving the facility. Earlier this year, same year, detainees inside the jail launched a hunger strike. This organized action, reported by immigrant advocacy group Cosecha, directly challenged the conditions within the facility.
DHS, despite its new policy, maintains that ICE “remains committed to transparency regarding detainee deaths.” This claim stands in stark contrast to its actions, which actively conceal the fates of those released from its custody and the private facilities it contracts.