The family of the man who died earlier this month while in Immigrations and Customs Enforcement custody at Newark’s Delaney Hall says it wants answers about how he died one day after he was taken into custody.
In an exclusive interview with NBC New York, Jean Wilson Brutus’ cousin says Brutus didn’t have any medical concerns before being taken into custody. “We haven’t had some kind of closure surrounding his death,” Evans Belony told News 4’s Axel Turcios. It’s something Belony says he and his family are still trying to process. “He was like a loved one, that we all loved, he was like a brother.”
ICE confirmed on Thursday day that the 41-year-old Haitian man died Dec. 12, after experiencing “a medical emergency.” “He did not have any medical conditions previously and he entered into ICE custody healthy,” said Belony.
The Delaney Hall immigration facility has already made headlines several times this year. In May, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was arrested there, accused of trespassing and released shortly after. The mayor has said he could not speak about his case, citing a promise he made to lawyers and the judge.
Baraka released a statement saying Brutus’ passing was “distressing, and brings up a host of disturbing questions.”…