Exclusive: Family demands answers after ICE detainee's death in New Jersey

nbc ^ | December 22, 2025 | Axel Turcios and Ethan Harp

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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."

Jean Wilson Brutus died Dec. 12, according to ICE, one day after he was taken into custody and placed in detention at Delaney Hall in Newark (Photo: Evans Belony) 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.

"We do want transparency, we do want accountability, we do want justice," Evans Belony, the cousin of Jean Wilson Brutus, told NBC New York. (Image: NBC New York) 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."

On Saturday, advocates were outside the detention center, holding signs calling for Delaney Hall to be shut down. "We do want transparency, we do want accountability, we do want justice," Belony said.

[jerod]

This comes under sh*te happens... Maybe if hadn’t entered the United States illegally... He would’ve been fine and lived out a longer life in his home country.

But he didn’t, so I guess we’ll never know.

[Governor Dinwiddie]

Here's the answer. He should have taken the cash behind door number 3 and skedaddled his tawny butt back home to his casa.

[Governor Dinwiddie]

Bye bye Brutus, goodbye!
Bye bye Brutus, don't cry!

[for-q-clinton]

Should have taken the money.

[LegendHasIt]

Whole thing sounds like a bunch of Belony to me!

[CFW]

I believe this is the one that died of alcohol-related liver problems.

[TigersEye]

"He was like a loved one, that we all loved, he was like a brother." "We do want transparency, we do want accountability, we do want justice, we do want a big payday!" Belony said.

[BigFreakinToad]

if only the person stayed in there own country none of this would have happened? Well, maybe it might have happened even sooner.

[CFW]

Ooops. Wrong illegal alien. The one who died from alcoholic hepatic cirrhosis was named Francisco Gaspar-Andrés.

[Ignatz]

"We do want money transparency, we do want money accountability, we do want money justice," Belony said.

[vpintheak]

Probably took the jab.

[lowbridge]

Or had something damaging on Hillary.

[lowbridge]

People dying while detained by ICE or any other federal agencies, isnt unusual. It doesnt happen all the time, but it does happen.

[No name given]

Perhaps.

[HighSierra5]

If only these jerkwads were just as concerned about the treatment of the J6 political prisoners.

[Jane Long]

Exactly. Or, Tina Peters ... who has cancer and is in solitary confinement in a CO prison ... for doing her job (elections clerk).

[healy61]

Two thoughts: the family needs to get an autopsy, and secondly, maybe he figured a way to take one for the team and cause backlash. Shoulda taken the money and left earlier.