United States Democratic Congresswoman Yvette Clarke has strongly condemned the death of a Haitian national who died while in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Last week, ICE confirmed that Jean Wilson Brutus, a 41 year old Haitian man detained at the Delaney Hall Detention Facility in Newark, New Jersey, died on December 12 from what the agency described as suspected natural causes. ICE stated that Brutus entered its custody on December 11 after being released from Union County Jail in Elizabeth, New Jersey, where he had been held following an arrest for criminal mischief related to property damage.
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Congresswoman Clarke, who represents New York’s Ninth Congressional District in Brooklyn and is the daughter of Jamaican immigrants, toured the Delaney Hall facility alongside fellow lawmakers Rob Menendez and LaMonica McIver. Following the visit, Clarke said the conditions inside the detention center were deeply disturbing and underscored the urgent need for congressional oversight.
She stated that oversight is essential to preventing and ending abuses at Delaney Hall and other detention facilities across the country. Clarke added that no human being deserves to endure the conditions she and her colleagues witnessed, describing them as shocking but not unexpected under the current immigration enforcement system.
Clarke accused the administration and ICE officials of cruelty and inhumanity, saying their immigration policies have disproportionately targeted immigrant communities while routinely denying due process. She said immigrants and even U.S. citizens have been swept into detention facilities that strip people of dignity and expose them to serious harm.
The congresswoman said Brutus should still be alive and criticized what she described as a lack of transparency surrounding his death. She emphasized that any death occurring in federal custody is the responsibility of the government and the administration overseeing it. Clarke noted that with multiple deaths reported in ICE custody in recent weeks, it is misleading to characterize the incident as isolated.
She stressed that being undocumented should never amount to a death sentence and vowed to continue demanding accountability as more details emerge. Clarke described her visit as heartbreaking, noting that many detainees looked like her constituents and members of her own family.
Clarke also reaffirmed New York City’s commitment to remaining a sanctuary city, saying it would continue to offer refuge to those seeking safety and protection while rejecting policies she described as rooted in hatred and exclusion.
ICE, in its statement, said Brutus experienced a medical emergency while detained and that emergency medical services were called to the facility. Life saving measures were attempted before he was transported to University Hospital in Newark, where he was later pronounced dead.
The agency said Brutus entered the United States illegally in June 2023 at the Hidalgo Port of Entry in Texas and was later paroled into the country pending immigration proceedings. ICE also reported that Brutus had several prior arrests for criminal trespassing between July and October 2024, and that he had been released back into the community on each occasion. A criminal trespassing charge from November 19 remains pending.
