A Peruvian national whose wife led hunger strikes and protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention at Delaney Hall in New Jersey was arrested on domestic assault charges before ICE took him into custody, according to police records reviewed by The Daily Wire and shared with the Oversight Project.
Martin Soto, 31, crossed the Arizona border illegally in January 2024 and was processed for expedited removal. He claimed fear of returning to his home country and was released from immigration custody by April 2024, according to law enforcement sources cited by The Daily Wire. Police in Kearny, New Jersey arrested him on February 1, 2026, for simple assault stemming from a domestic violence incident. ICE officers visited the Hudson County Correctional Center on February 2, 2026, where they took Soto into federal custody and transferred him to Delaney Hall.
Gabriela Soto led protests outside Delaney Hall in May and June, telling NJ.com she started demonstrations 'to close Delaney Hall and free every detainee.' She claimed her husband was retaliated against for her activism and wrote publicly that he was a 'loving father, husband, son, church member, worker' who had been 'abducted' by ICE while buying diapers. A GoFundMe account she established for her husband raised more than $67,000.
What the Right Is Saying
Conservatives say the Soto case exemplifies what they describe as a pattern of activists and media amplifying misleading narratives about immigration enforcement. The Oversight Project, a conservative legal organization, obtained the police report showing Martin Soto was arrested locally before ICE took custody.
Scott Mechkowski, a visiting fellow for deportation studies at the Oversight Project who previously served as ICE New York field office deputy director, said the public received a version of events that did not match official records. 'The record says he was arrested by Kearny police, handed to Hudson County, taken into ICE custody, and detained at Delaney Hall while charged with assaulting the very woman who then made him a headline,' Mechkowski told The Daily Wire.
Delaney Hall underwent inspection and was cleared of allegations regarding conditions that sparked protests, according to officials. 'This is one example; there are many,' Mechkowski said. 'A sympathetic claim built to go viral, while the facts sit unread in a file.' Congressional Republicans have pointed to similar cases as evidence that media coverage of immigration enforcement often lacks verification.
What the Left Is Saying
Immigration rights advocates argue that even if Martin Soto faced prior criminal charges, it does not negate concerns about conditions inside detention facilities or broader patterns of immigration enforcement. The immigrant rights community has long maintained that civil immigration violations should not result in prolonged detention without due process.
Organizations including the American Immigration Lawyers Association and national ACLU chapters have documented what they describe as substandard medical care, inadequate food quality, and insufficient legal access at private detention centers across the country. These advocates contend that facility conditions warrant independent scrutiny regardless of individual detainees' backgrounds.
Protest organizers who gathered outside Delaney Hall said their focus remained on transparency and accountability for all people held in federal immigration custody. 'The question is whether our government is operating these facilities humanely,' one organizer told local reporters during the demonstrations. 'That's not determined by any one person's criminal record.'
What the Numbers Show
Police records show Martin Soto was arrested February 1, 2026, for simple assault related to domestic violence. The report states he 'purposely' caused 'bodily injury' to an unnamed female victim by using his hands to strike her face and neck, causing minor cuts and scratches. He allegedly placed a hand over the victim's mouth to prevent her from screaming for help, according to the document reviewed by The Daily Wire.
Martin Soto crossed the Arizona border illegally in January 2024. Under expedited removal procedures, individuals apprehended within 100 miles of the border and present for less than two years can be removed without full immigration court proceedings. He was released after claiming credible fear of persecution if returned to Peru, according to law enforcement sources.
The GoFundMe account established by Gabriela Soto raised more than $67,000 as of late June. The protests drew hundreds of participants at peak attendance, according to local news reports and social media documentation from demonstration organizers.
The Bottom Line
The conflicting accounts highlight ongoing tensions between immigration advocates and federal enforcement agencies operating detention facilities in New Jersey and across the country. Gabriela Soto's narrative — that her husband was detained while performing routine errands — differs materially from police records showing he was arrested locally before ICE assumed custody.
What happens next: Federal immigration authorities have not publicly commented on the contents of the Kearny Police Department report. Gabriela Soto has not responded to requests for comment from The Daily Wire regarding the discrepancy between her account and the official record. Immigration court proceedings for Martin Soto remain pending, according to court docket information.
The broader dispute over conditions at Delaney Hall continues despite the conflicting narratives about how Martin Soto came to be in federal custody.