Martin Soto is free.
On Tuesday evening, the New Jersey resident walked out of the Elizabeth Detention Center with an ankle monitor strapped to his leg after spending eight months in ICE custody. Soto had also been imprisoned at Delaney Hall in Newark prior to his transfer.
Soto's case – and the continual pleas from his wife, Gabriela, a U.S. citizen – has become a rallying call among immigration advocates in the Garden State.
A Peru native, Soto entered the United States illegally in 2024 so that he could raise his kids along with his wife.
According to his family, Soto is one of many ICE detainees without a criminal record. This claim has since been contested by The Daily Wire, which reported that he was arrested in February on a simple assault charge.
Gabriela Soto said she initially considered moving to Peru, but they were worried about political instability and civil unrest that made the proposal "dangerous" for their family.
"So, in order to be with me and our daughter, Martin made the hardest decision of his life: he decided to cross the border, leaving his extended family and everything he knew," she recalled. "He walked hours and hours through a desert, and when he crossed into the U.S., he turned himself in to immigration officials."
After being shuffled through the system for months, Soto was eventually released while he pursued his asylum claim. Along the way, he married Gaby and they had another child – both of whom are U.S. citizens.
"We both had jobs, and together we did everything for our families," she said. "Then, one night, everything changed."
In February, the Kearny resident was arrested by ICE agents, who seized him as he was buying diapers for his kids. He was taken to Delaney Hall in Newark, which had recently become the first federal detention center to reopen under President Donald Trump.
At the privately run prison, Soto and other detainees allegedly faced conditions that included bad food, subpar medical care and mandatory work assignments that paid them as little as $1 per day.
The company that runs the prison – the GEO Group – and U.S. Homeland Security officials have repeatedly denied that detainees are facing any dangerous conditions at Delaney Hall. But advocates and family members insist they're not telling the truth – and they continue to rally outside the prison to demand change.
While at Delaney Hall, Soto helped to lead a hunger and labor strike that received national news coverage – activism that earned him a stint in solitary confinement, according to his wife. Eventually, Soto was transferred to the Elizabeth Detention Center, which is run by another private company, CoreCivic.
Gabriela Soto continued to advocate passionately for her husband, who reportedly experienced suicidal thoughts and lost more than 50 pounds during his incarceration. Meanwhile, she went through her own trials, including a miscarriage that she has linked to stress.
Soto continues to fight for legal status in the United States, which his release doesn't solve. But he will do so from home – and that's worth celebrating, his family members say.
Video footage showed an emotional reunion outside the prison between the Sotos, as the grateful couple ran to meet each other.
"What this family went through is an injustice that sadly is one example of many across this country," U.S. Rep. Analilia Mejia said following Martín's release.
"But we know that when we fight as a community, when we unite, that we are able to overcome even the worst injustice," the New Jersey congresswoman added.
Advocates also cheered for Soto's release.
"What happened to Martin is a window into how much time and money ICE wastes tearing families apart," said Nedia Morsy, director of Make the Road New Jersey.
"He was grabbed by masked ICE agents on his way to buy diapers for his children and locked up in a private prison," Morsy said. "When he went on a hunger and labor strike to expose the human rights abuses happening inside of Delaney Hall, he was thrown in solitary confinement."
Morsy said that Soto's leadership inside Delaney Hall gave hundreds of people the courage to stand up for themselves – and he showed that fighting back is worth it.
"Martin's release shows that we can win even when it seems impossible, and we must continue to organize until every person inside is free, detention camps are shut down for good, and ICE is abolished," Morsy added.
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