A Death in Detention

José Efraín Chajón Raxón left his hometown of San Juan Sacatepequez, Guatemala, to begin a life in the United States over a decade ago. In August, his body was returned home. He was buried in a local cemetery — several weeks after being detained at New Jersey’s Delaney Hall. 

However, as Documented’s Eileen Grench, Rommel H. Ojeda and Daniele Volpe report, the circumstances of Chajón Raxón’s death remain murky. He was arrested and detained in Delaney Hall on July 18, and reports of his death began circulating on social media on July 22. The Department of Homeland Security says that he suffered from convulsions one day after being detained, was transferred to a hospital, and then was released from ICE custody before he died. 

Meanwhile, his community in Guatemala has been in mourning, with hundreds attending his vigil and funeral earlier this month at the San Francisco de Asís Catholic church. Chajón Raxón’s body was able to be repatriated because parishioners and community members pooled together their resources. 

Crisitian Manuel Raxón (no relation), a member of the parish where Chajón Raxón lived before moving to the U.S., told Documented that the community “helped with whatever they could, be it cash donations or provisions.” 

Documented reached out to Chajón Raxón’s family, including his mother and brother. Speaking to Documented in Guatemala, they shared about how they learned of his death and what happened in the days that followed.