The ICE “Diaper Dad” Story Isn’t What It Seems

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**Tim Rice** (1:03)
Hello, I'm Tim Rice. Welcome to another edition of Behind the Story. Joining me today is one of our favorite guests, Daily Wire immigration reporter Jennie Taer. Jennie, thank you so much for coming back on the show.

**Jennie Taer** (1:15)
Thanks. It's great to be back.

**Tim Rice** (1:17)
So we have so many things that we could talk about because you are, of course, writing prolifically, constantly getting scoops and exclusives on your beat, which is potentially one of the crazier beats that we cover. But instead of talking about, you know, the migrant crisis in Spain, the potential push to oust Markway and Mullen from the Department of Homeland Security, the recent back and forth on whether ICE is going to do vehicle stops or not, which is another story that you broke. I want to talk about what I think is maybe my favorite story that you have written ever.
And it's about our friend, Martin Soto, and specifically the recent developments that you had communicating with his wife. So before we get into the really good stuff, why don't you just take us back, remind us who this guy is and why he's in the news at all to begin with.

**Jennie Taer** (2:12)
Right, so if you all remember, there were those hunger strikes at Delaney Hall, that's the ICE detention center in Newark, a few months back, a lot of chaos outside that facility, clashes between anti-ICE protestors and local and federal authorities. There was a lot of concern about the conditions inside from those anti-ICE protestors and they said that that was why those detainees were on a hunger strike inside. We basically at the time actually had debunked that there was really a true hunger strike going on because what ended up happening is that those detainees were just opting not to eat their meals for the day and they were just stocking up at the commissary where the offerings were pretty nice. They even had like clams.
They had like sushi as well as like your normal, you know, like Fritos, honey buns type of thing.

**Tim Rice** (3:18)
But would you like to be clear? Yeah, I am not jumping the line to eat iced detention facility sushi.

**Jennie Taer** (3:26)
No.

**Tim Rice** (3:27)
But the fact of the matter is that is an absurd thing to have on offer, regardless of the quality, if what you're claiming is you're on a hunger strike. Anyway, I digress.

**Jennie Taer** (3:38)
Exactly. So would not go for the clams. But the situation was that Martin Soto, one of the detainees from Peru that was inside that facility, was actually said to be leading that hunger strike. And his wife actually was outside the facility at the time. She was kind of leading some protests on behalf of those detainees. And she was arguing for her husband's innocence. And she was saying that he was taken by ICE while he was out buying diapers for their child.
And that she said that happened on February 1st.
Come to find out, through a police report that we obtained, this individual, Martin Soto, was actually arrested, yes, on February 1st. Not by ICE, but by local authorities in Kearney, New Jersey, where they took him into custody for charges of domestic assault, simple assault. And there were some details that were provided in the police report. However, the name of the victim, which again, this was a domestic assault, the name of the victim, we don't know because it was redacted. Now I can give you a glimpse into what was said about what Martin allegedly did that day, which was he purposely caused bodily injury to this unnamed female victim, specifically by using his hands, with open and closed to strike her in her face, causing minor scratches and cuts to her face and neck. That's what the police report said. Now, ICE did take him into custody. That was one part. Hold on, sorry.