New Jersey Immigrant Activist Martin Soto Released After Eight Months in ICE Detention
Martín Soto, a New Jersey immigrant and labor activist, walked free on Tuesday after spending eight months in federal immigration custody. His release followed a sustained campaign led by his wife, Gabriela Soto, who became a vocal advocate for his freedom while pregnant with their child. Soto’s detention at the Delaney Hall ICE jail in Newark drew national attention after he helped organize hunger and labor strikes to protest conditions inside the facility.
While detained, Soto led protests against spoiled food, overcrowding, and inadequate medical care. Detainees at Delaney Hall are forced to work for around $1 per day. In retaliation for the strikes, guards reportedly beat participants and temporarily suspended family visitations. In May, Soto was transferred to an ICE jail in Elizabeth, New Jersey, where he continued his hunger strike. That same month, Gabriela Soto spoke at a press conference outside Delaney Hall, highlighting her husband’s plight and the broader issues facing detainees.
Gabriela credited Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.) and other officials for their efforts, saying that their “efforts were critical to us finally reaching this moment.” The Trump administration and ICE have consistently denied that a hunger strike took place, calling it a publicity stunt by Democratic lawmakers and activists. Despite these claims, Soto’s release marks a significant victory for immigrant rights advocates who have long criticized conditions at Delaney Hall and other ICE facilities.
Soto’s case underscores the ongoing tensions surrounding immigration detention in the United States. His release reunites him with his wife and children, but the fight for better treatment of detainees continues. As activists celebrate his freedom, they vow to keep pressure on ICE to address systemic abuses and ensure that the rights of all detainees are respected.
Shimanta Das 
