Martin Soto walked free from Elizabeth Detention Center (EDC) around 7 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 6. Gabriela, his wife and fierce advocate, ran to embrace him. Martin was taken into ICE detention in February while purchasing diapers for his two children. In late May, ICE violently transferred him from Delaney Hall in Newark to Elizabeth in retaliation for his role in helping to lead the heroic detention center strike launched by at least 24 detainees. The strike quickly grew to include close to 300.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Hundreds of community members mobilized in protest against his transfer. Community mobilizations opposed to Soto\u2019s transfer brought increased national awareness and support to the strike. Detainees around the country were inspired by the example at Delaney Hall to start at least six additional strikes in detention centers. Protesters inside and outside detention center walls faced violent retaliation. Martin and his legal team state that he was held in solitary confinement for at least four months at EDC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Gabriela suffered a miscarriage due to the stress of the psychological and physical torture Martin suffered. Her and her young children lost their home due to the loss of Martin\u2019s income. During Martin\u2019s confinement, Gabriela spent every waking moment advocating for his release, taking care of her family, and attempting to visit Martin. Most days she would wait hours to find out she would not be let into the facility. Her daughter\u2019s whole worldview became shaped by Martin\u2019s absence and the constant presence of police and prisons. Gabriela took every opportunity to speak out, demanding Martin\u2019s release. Activists around New Jersey began to see her everywhere. She traveled to California, Connecticut, and many other places to bring attention to the ongoing repression against strikers and their families.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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The Delaney Hall strike began in May against the horrible labor and living conditions in ICE\u2019s GEO Group-managed detention centers. In their letter<\/a> announcing and explaining the strike, 24 detainees stated, \u201cWe feel vulnerable and, in a way, kidnapped\u2014detained without justification\u2014not to mention that we are being tortured physically and psychologically due to the poor food resources provided in these detention centers.\u201d The strikers centered the basic violation of their political rights under the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Amendments and pointed to public health dangers, including \u201ca high spread of COVID-19 in detention centers, and the flu is constant among detainees, which could lead to outbreaks of illnesses or epidemics.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Detained strikers inspired solidarity in Newark and around the country. Protesters inside the detention center walls showed the bravery and ability of immigrant workers to fight for freedom and an end to the deportation-repression machine. They followed in the footsteps of other important struggles within detention centers, including the 2022 strikes at Mesa Verde and Golden State Annex in California.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Outside, a broad range of supporters from trade unions to clergy to unaffiliated individuals maintained a constant solidarity vigil. Police regularly attacked and arrested strike supporters on the outside. Both federal and local agencies carried out the often violent crackdowns, causing a political crisis for the Democratic Party in Newark and New Jersey, where that organization claims to stand in solidarity with immigrants against the Trump regime. After release, FBI agents visited activists at their homes attempting to intimidate and turn them<\/a> into informants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n