Inmate at Delaney Hall dies after medical episode
The family of 39-year-old Edwin Jovanny wants to know if their son was being properly cared for after complaining of numbness on the right side of his face and right arm on Friday. He was found unresponsive Saturday by fellow inmates.
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Another inmate died at Delaney Hall while in the custody of ICE.
The family of Edwin Jovanny says they did not learn of his death until they received a call from University Hospital to identify his remains.
Edwin Jovanny, of Plainfield, had been held inside of Delaney Hall for the last six weeks.
His mother tells says the 39-year-old had been dealing with issues related to high blood pressure and diabetes.
On Friday, he told her by phone that the right side of his face and arm were numb.
On Saturday, he suffered a medical episode and died.
His parents can’t understand why The GEO Group, which runs Delaney Hall, and the Department of Homeland Security did not notify them. The mother of Edwin Jovanny wants to remain anonymous.
She said through a translator that she felt it was insensitive and disrespectful that she was not told by DHS that her son had died.
"Not just disrespectful to my family but also to my our whole community, who are being arrested and hunted down," said Jovanny's mother.
His mother is very skeptical of the care her son was receiving.
ICE has not yet responded to request for comment on this death, however, in the past Homeland Security has stated any claims of poor medical treatment are false.
In the past, DHS sent out a statement saying,
“ICE conducts comprehensive medical, dental, and mental health screenings within 12 hours of arrival, completes a full health assessment within 14 days, and ensures ongoing access to medical appointments and 24-hour emergency care.”
This is the second death of an inmate at Delaney Hall.
Last year, Jean Brutus, of Haiti, died 24 hours after being detained at the facility in Newark.
