New Jersey officials have apprehended two of the four detainees who escaped from an immigrant detention facility last week, according to the Department of Homeland Security on Monday, June 16.
According to DHS, four “dangerous criminal illegal aliens” broke out of Delaney Hall in Newark on June 12, including Joel Enrique Sandoval-Lopez from Honduras and Joan Sebastian Castaneda-Lozada from Colombia. A search for all four began, with officials offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to their arrest.
DHS has confirmed that Sandoval-Lopez and Castaneda-Lozada were separated on June 13.
Sandoval-Lopez was apprehended by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), FBI agents, and local police in Passaic, New Jersey, according to DHS. Officials claim he resisted arrest by kicking and threatening to kill officers.
Meanwhile, Castaneda-Lozada attempted to turn himself in at the New Jersey State Police Bridgeton Station, but officials refused to take him into custody due to sanctuary policies prohibiting them from working with ICE. DHS said he later turned himself in to FBI and ICE agents in Milleville, New Jersey.
Sandoval-Lopez’s criminal record includes unlawful possession of a handgun and aggravated assault, while Castaneda-Lozada’s includes burglary, theft, and conspiracy to commit burglary, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
Officials search for the remaining two escapees
The Department of Homeland Security is still looking for the two remaining escapees, Franklin Norberto Bautista-Reyes of Honduras and Andres Pineda-Mogollon of Colombia.
Bautista-Reyes illegally entered the United States in 2021 and was arrested on May 3, 2025 in Wayne Township, New Jersey, on charges of aggravated assault, terroristic threats, attempting to cause bodily harm, and possessing a weapon for unlawful purposes, according to DHS.
Pineda-Mogollon entered the United States in 2023 on a tourist visa, which DHS claims he overstayed. Police in New York City arrested him on April 25 for petit larceny, and New Jersey police arrested him on May 21 for residential burglary, conspiracy residential burglary, and possession of burglary tools, according to the department.
The Department of Homeland Security continues to offer $10,000 for information leading to the arrest of the two men.
Many complaints were made about the conditions at the facility
Before the escape. Delaney Hall has received numerous complaints about alleged unsuitable facility conditions, including insufficient food, since its opening in May, according to multiple immigration rights groups.
Agents reportedly used tear gas and pepper spray after a riot broke out inside the facility on the day of the breakout.
According to information gathered from people inside Delaney Hall, 50 inmates in the federal detention facility worked together to push down a unit’s wall after meals were delivered late. On the same night, unconfirmed reports circulated that several people had escaped from the facility.
According to the Bergen Record, a publication of the USA TODAY Network, information gathered from inside the facility indicates that 50 inmates worked to knock down a unit wall after meals were delivered late.
The Bergen Record reported that the 1,196-bed facility is the first immigrant detention facility to open during President Donald Trump’s second term.
