Gabriela Soto, the pregnant wife of an ICE detainee, is leading protests in Newark, New Jersey, to support detainees on a hunger strike.

The demonstrations highlight a growing crisis at the Delaney Hall ICE detention center, where detainees are using extreme measures to pressure federal authorities for their release. The situation underscores the tension between immigration enforcement and the humanitarian conditions within detention facilities.

Approximately 300 detainees are currently participating in a hunger and labor strike [1]. The strike began on May 22, 2024 [2], as a coordinated effort to demand better living conditions, and immediate release from the facility [3].

Soto, who has organized protests outside the facility, said publicly during demonstrations held between May 24 and May 26, 2024 [4]. She said that the detainees have a support network outside the walls of the center.

“They are not alone inside,” Soto said. “We're not letting anything happen to them” [5].

The strike involves both a refusal of food and a cessation of labor within the center. Organizers said the action is necessary because the detainees feel they have no other way to be heard by the agency overseeing their detention.

Soto said that the goal of the public demonstrations is to ensure the safety of those inside while applying external pressure on the government. “We are standing in solidarity with the detainees and demanding that ICE release them,” Soto said [6].

Delaney Hall remains the center of the conflict as advocates continue to monitor the health of the participants. The scale of the strike—involving hundreds of individuals—marks a significant escalation in organized protest within the U.S. immigration detention system.

““They are not alone inside. We're not letting anything happen to them.””

The hunger and labor strike at Delaney Hall represents a high-stakes tactic used by detainees when legal and administrative appeals fail. By combining a labor strike with a hunger strike, the detainees are attempting to disrupt the operational efficiency of the facility while simultaneously creating a humanitarian crisis that forces public and political attention toward ICE detention conditions.