The illegal immigrant who organized a protest at an ICE detention facility in New Jersey only landed in federal custody after being arrested for brutally beating his wife, who for months has promoted a sob story alleging he was kidnapped while shopping, according to arrest records obtained by The Daily Wire.
Peruvian national Martin Soto became the face of the anti-ICE crusade after leading a hunger strike in ICE’s Delaney Hall Detention Center in Newark, New Jersey. Soto and his wife, Gabriela, rallied for his eventual release from ICE custody as she claimed the agency “abducted” him while he was out buying diapers for their infant son on February 1. Media outlets and Democratic politicians largely promoted the sob story and celebrated his release from ICE detention earlier this month.
Records obtained by The Daily Wire paint a different picture. The documents, obtained through a public records request from the Kearny Police Department, state that Martin was arrested that day by officers in Kearny for “domestic abuse.”
The victim’s name was redacted, except for one part where documents identify her as “Ms. Soto.”
The Daily Wire previously reported on the incident based on local records obtained by the Oversight Project, which did not share any information about the victim other than her gender.
Those records stated that Martin Soto “purposely” caused “bodily injury” to the victim “specifically by using his hands, both opened and closed to strike” her “in her face, causing minor scratches and cuts to her face and neck.”
Soto then allegedly “placed a hand over” her “mouth so she could not scream for help,” according to the earlier report.
The latest report also identified the victim as the daughter of “Mr. Gabriel Osores.” Osores is Gabriela’s maiden name.
Officers responded to a “domestic violence” call at the Sotos’ address, where they arrested Martin, who allegedly committed the beating with children in the room, according to the report.
At one point, Martin “tried to push” Gabriela’s father “off of him,” the report stated. The victim’s father “then told the defendant he must leave the house,” according to the report.
Gabriela “then contacted the police,” while Martin’s next move, the details of which are redacted in the report, prompted the victim’s father “to pull him away.”
The responding officers called EMS due to injuries to an unidentified individual and Martin, who was “bleeding from his nose, had a laceration on his lip, and several scratches on his abdomen.” Martin refused medical care.
The documents revealed that Martin was transferred to ICE custody directly from the Hudson County jail on February 2. ICE previously confirmed that federal immigration officers took Martin into custody that day after he was charged with assault, and said that Martin “participated in inciting unrest and causing property damage” while detained at Delaney Hall.
The assault case was later expunged, a Town of Kearny official told The Daily Wire.
Scott Mechkowski, a visiting fellow at the Oversight Project and Mass Deportation Coalition, said the documents “prove” that Gabriela “is a pathological liar.”
“It wasn’t an abduction, and nobody grabbed him off a Kearny street on a diaper run or in a store shopping at all.”
“Every reporter, congressman, and senator who put his name on ‘Free Martin Soto’ had the same access to the facts I did. They did not call the police department, and they did not ask for the report. They took one person’s word because it fit what they already wanted to say about ICE, and they let federal officers be called kidnappers for months,” Mechkowski, who formerly served as the ICE New York field office deputy director, said.
“The officials who pushed this story owe ICE’s officers an apology and owe the public a correction,” he added. “So far we have heard neither and won’t. They have no moral compass.”
Martin Soto walked free on October 6 from an ICE detention center in Elizabeth, New Jersey, where he was transferred in May, after a Biden-appointed judge granted his habeas petition, stating he was wrongfully detained and had mental health concerns.
Democratic New Jersey Reps. Rob Menendez and Analilia Mejia were present outside the detention center to welcome Martin, who emerged wearing an ankle monitor and fell, sobbing, into his wife’s arms.
Gabriela did not respond to a requests for comment on the newly obtained records.
While Martin was locked up by ICE, Gabriela led protests outside Delaney Hall advocating for the release of all illegal immigrants over alleged inhumane conditions inside the facility, raising more than $67,000 on GoFundMe in the process. She claims the stress of having her husband locked up caused her to have a miscarriage.
In a June op-ed entitled “ICE Kidnapped My Husband On His Way to Buy Diapers For Our Infant Son,” Gabriela described Martin as “a loving father, husband, son, church member, worker, and neighbor in the town of Kearny, New Jersey, where we live.”
She claimed ICE retaliated against her husband for his role in leading the hunger strike and for her demonstrations outside the facility.
Martin’s lawyer, Selenia DeStefani, filed an application for the Peruvian national to receive a U-visa, which is reserved for victims of certain crimes, over his treatment in ICE detention. The New Jersey Department of Labor certified the U-visa application.
“Martin Soto’s case aligns with the laws administered and enforced by the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development (NJDOL),” the New Jersey Department of Labor said in a statement. “After a review of Mr. Soto’s request, the NJDOL certified his U-Visa application on October 3, 2026.”
When reached for comment on the latest records, DeStefani denied that Martin has a criminal record and said that “he is the victim of a crime, not he perpetrator of one.”
In a July Instagram direct message conversation with The Daily Wire, Gabriela claimed she was “not aware” of the police report, but confirmed that it was her husband’s information that was listed.
She denied the allegations of domestic abuse.
“My husband NEVER hit me I even have proof from pictures and selfies I had taken that week and I do not have no bodily injury. My husband never hit anyone. It’s only me my husband and kids at the home. My husband never would hit a female ever,” she said.
Gabriela also asserted that Martin “never got arrested by Kearny PD” and that “he left the house on February 1 at 530pm.”
“I have messages and locations and everything for proof from that afternoon. And I have a call from Delaney Hall at 1030 ish at night when he called me,” she said.
“My husband will NEVER do nothing to harm his family or his marriage,” she added. “I know exactly where he was and what he does and who he talks too [sic].”
READ THE FULL ARREST REPORT BELOW:
Martin Soto Delaney Hall Arrest Report by Daily Wire Investigations Team
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