A man at the center of the hunger strikes and protests that brought international scrutiny to an ICE detention center in New Jersey has been reunited with his family.
Now Martin Soto may also be at the center of a criminal investigation into claims of forced labor at Delaney Hall.
Soto was freed late Tuesday from a different facility in Elizabeth, where his lawyers say he was isolated in solitary confinement after the unrest at Delaney in May.
“I was told by so many people that this couldn't have been done, that he would get deported,” Gabriela Soto, the man’s wife, told reporters during a Friday press conference inside the Newark office of the Nova immigration law firm.
“I kept saying, no, no, I don't want that to happen. I'm not going to let it happen.”
Gabriela Soto, an American citizen, became a face of the protest movement when she began demonstrating outside Delaney Hall and claimed her husband, an asylum-seeker from Peru, faced retaliation inside because of her activism.
The hunger strike lasted several weeks, and over 300 people detained inside signed letters claiming they faced unsanitary conditions, spoiled food and lack of medical care inside the private facility operated by the GEO Group, a company with close ties to President Donald Trump’s administration.
The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to messages seeking comment on Soto’s release, but the Trump administration has claimed the hunger strike was a “publicity stunt” by New Jersey’s Democratic lawmakers. Federal officials deny any adverse conditions at Delaney Hall.
Soto’s release was supported by prominent New Jersey lawmakers, including U.S. Sen. Andy Kim and U.S. Reps. Nellie Pou and Rob Menendez, who all issued statements condemning his treatment by immigration authorities.
The Sotos were joined at their press conference by members of a coalition calling itself ICE Out of New Jersey, who said elected officials would have forgotten about Martin’s case were it not for his wife’s relentless efforts to get in front of them and remind them.
“Our elected officials, unfortunately, are the hands were are dealt,” said Katie Bansil, the political director of Progressive Victory, one of the groups that appeared alongside the Sotos.
“They are who we have. And when a family is in crisis, we cannot wait for a better hand to be dealt.”
U.S. District Court Judge Jamel Semper ordered Soto’s release, citing the length of his detention and concerns over his mental health, court filings show.
Soto’s attorney, Selenia Destefani, said the state Department of Labor had also signed a certification for a U visa, which would allow him to remain in the United States.
A U visa gives temporary legal status to victims of certain crimes who have suffered physical or mental injuries and help authorities in their investigation.
In this case, Destefani said, Soto was subjected to involuntary servitude during his detention — forced to work long hours in the kitchen and clean crowded bathrooms without proper supplies.
Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s administration did not immediately respond to questions from NJ PBS about the nature of their investigation into the forced labor claims.