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Martin Soto, who helped lead a hunger strike at Delaney Hall immigration jail in Newark, New Jersey, earlier this year, was released from detention with an ankle monitor on Tuesday evening.

Martin was released after U.S. District Court Judge Jamel Semper ruled that his detention was illegal, citing the conditions of his confinement, his deteriorating mental health, and lack of sufficient reason to continue his detention.

Martin was abducted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) while buying diapers for his 11-month-old son in February, and was central to organizing the hunger strike at Delaney Hall that began in May. The strike lasted for a month and put a national spotlight on the inhumane conditions at the for-profit immigration jail — including medical neglect, deprivation of legal counsel, and coerced deportation of people being detained.

Martin faced retaliation at the ICE detention center almost immediately.

From the first day of the hunger strike, Martin’s wife, Gabriela Soto, protested outside of Delaney Hall with other family members of hunger striking detainees, translating calls from Martin and others inside who described the conditions they were facing. Guards at Delaney retaliated by cutting phone access for those detained.

ICE Kidnapped My Husband on His Way to Buy Diapers........

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