Newark, New Jersey — Dozens of protesters blocked entrances to the Delaney Hall ICE detention facility in Newark on Sunday after activists claimed immigration officials attempted to transfer a detainee involved in an ongoing hunger and labor strike.
The detainee, Martin Soto, is among several individuals participating in a strike demanding improved medical care and the release of elderly and medically vulnerable detainees held at the facility. Protesters gathered after Soto’s wife, Gabriela Soto, said she saw guards placing a man she believed to be her husband into a van while she was waiting to visit him.
Attorneys for Soto had filed a habeas corpus petition in New Jersey seeking his release. Activists feared transferring him to another state could complicate or undermine those legal proceedings. Later Sunday, advocates said federal officials assured attorneys Soto would not be moved due to a standing court order.
The protests marked the third day of demonstrations tied to complaints about conditions inside Delaney Hall, the largest ICE detention facility in the New York metropolitan area. Detainees have alleged poor medical care and unsafe living conditions in signed letters circulated by advocacy groups.
Family members of detainees also joined the rally, including parents who said relatives were being unfairly detained while awaiting immigration proceedings.
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