Tonight on NJPBS News, the man who led a hunger strike amongst detainees at Delaney Hall has been suddenly released after eight months in ICE detention.

Tonight, the latest on his case and the reunion with his family captured on video.

Also, a new poll out today showing the deepening effect of the affordability crisis here in Jersey.

A leading pollster shares the latest numbers showing the strain even on the middle class, plus why Black and Hispanic residents are feeling the pinch even more.

And new rankings out tonight showing which counties here in Jersey have the worst commutes.

Stay tuned to see if your county made the list, unless you're not even watching this because you are still stuck in traffic.

NJPBS News starts now.

This is NJPBS News with Rob Nelson.

We begin tonight with a New Jersey father back home with his wife and two young kids after spending eight months in ICE custody.

Martin Soto was detained back in February and later became a central figure in a hunger strike over conditions at Delaney Hall in Newark.

His wife says he was transferred to another detention center and placed in solitary confinement after officials suspected that he helped lead that protest.

Soto was released from the Elizabeth Detention Center just last night.

And NJPBS North Jersey reporter Sean Sullivan has extensively covered Delaney Hall and has been speaking with an activist close to the Soto family.

So this happened about 8 o'clock last night.

You spoke to this activist.

What do we know about this release and kind of how all this played out last night and early today?

So Martin Soto, Martin Soto was a key figure in the Delaney Hall protests and he was removed from the facility, Delaney Hall, over to another facility in Elizabeth.

And for months now, these activists have been trying to secure his release.

And I spoke with Casey Ward, who told me that last night, you know, the call came very quickly and they had to get down to Elizabeth to see what was going on.

Gabby and their daughter, Vero, ran into his arms and the whole night as Martin thanked everybody and did press and all of this stuff, his children just hanging off of him, just so happy to be reunited with their father.

And Gabby was just beside herself.

All of us were.

It was a really beautiful, hopeful moment, which those of us that are fighting this fight definitely needed.

So judging from that, I mean, the news broke quickly last night based on what Casey said.

So is the sense here with the activists and with the family, this kind of came out of nowhere because, I mean, no one really quite understands the process here.

And there was no warning.

It just kind of happened random on a random Tuesday, October 9th.

Yeah, I mean, if you cover immigration or criminal justice long enough, you will find that these processes are not explained by anyone.

You know, the judges involved often don't know what the rules are.

And so very often these people are when they are released are just sort of let out into the world.

Sometimes they don't even have laces on their sneakers.

But for for Martin Soto, his wife has been an organized protester outside of there, has made contacts with members of Congress.

You know, they've been in touch with the governor's office.

And so I think that Gabby got a little bit of a heads up that this may have been in the works.

But as Casey said there, it was it all happens very quickly.

And he just happened to have the support network that people could be could show up there to greet him.

But many of these people come out days not speaking English and have to, like, figure out a bus.

Wow.

And listen, Delaney Hall has been such a flashpoint in this state for a while.

I mean, the governor's decision to send state police in.

We saw, you know, clashes with protesters, law enforcement and against the backdrop of a national country roiled by the immigration issue in the last few years.

So do we understand just from the basic legalities here what happened?

I'm seeing the term visa certification.

What does that mean?

What did Jersey do here to make this happen?

Yeah, so we don't have clarity on exactly how all this played out.

But I reached out to the governor's office because, according to Gabby Soto, they the state has thrown their support essentially behind his asylum claim.

Martin Soto came here in late 2023 as an asylum seeker.

That is a messy process.

He was detained for a while and then released in 2024.

And so he was, you know, awaiting his asylum processing when he was picked up earlier this year.

And so now I think he goes back into that process.

But, you know, in terms of how that plays out, that's anybody's guess.

I mean, the question would be, at least in my mind, is that if the state was behind this, and I assume they are, and the governor has been a sharp critic of this facility, wants to shut it down, doesn't quite have the legal authority from the courts to do it.

But now it wants to create her oversight.

But through this process, it seems like she could do this, the state could do this for others who have been detained.

So is there any sense of this is the beginning of the state's new approach with the Delaney?

Like, what's the bigger picture here?

It could be that this is part of a continued process because you have seen the Sherrill administration try to set up infrastructure to, you know, quote unquote, combat ice.

You know, this is an adversarial relationship between the state and federal government.

But, you know, the federal government has jurisdiction.

The state really has its hands tied.

What they can do is stuff like health inspections at Delaney Hall or a situation like this where it seems like they are endorsing an immigrant detainee's asylum claim, which I think would carry more weight with a judge.

That seems to be what happened here.

But, you know, how they are doing this in a systematic way, it's hard to tell because, again, the state doesn't actually have a hand on the ball here.

You know, what they say carries a lot of weight, but federal immigration is federal immigration.

Of course.

And just in 30 seconds, just to remind people again why and how Martine became so central, his role in that hunger strike and what you think his release kind of means for the very active anti-Delaney Hall movement in this state.

Well, Martine's detention made headlines when it happened because, according to his family, he was out buying diapers when ICE snatched him up, which obviously sends a very scary image.

Now, you had Republican lawmakers throughout this process being sort of leaked documents by ICE saying that this was a bad guy who had committed assault.

I spent a long time trying to get ICE or DHS to call off any documents related to this.

And it's worth noting that, you know, Gabby Soto says that her husband didn't commit assault.

But in terms of what happened there, we don't actually know, you know, but that was enough for whatever process when he was arrested for him to be sent to Delaney Hall.

And then it was more Gabby, who is a U.S.

citizen, who was kind of the more vocal person leading protests on the outside, while Martine and some other detainees were staging a hunger strike inside.

But according to the Soto family, Gabby's activism outside really made Martine a target inside.

And so then he was transferred to Elizabeth, put into solitary confinement, sort of treated as an agitator.

DHS denies this, and it's worth noting, I think, still maintains that there never was a hunger strike at Delaney Hall.

And so you are getting very different perspectives from the federal government that has the contract with this facility.

Well, now that we have this, we'll see what happens with the family, and we'll see what happens with the case itself.

But certainly another milestone kind of day feeling there at Delaney Hall.

NJPBS North Jersey reporter, pardon me, Sean Sullivan, thank you for jumping on this story tonight.

Appreciate it.

Sean will continue to follow this story, and you can read more of his reporting on NJPBS.org.

Well, from housing and health care to gas, groceries, the electric bill, all of it, a new poll finds that New Jersey's affordability squeeze is simply not letting up.

In fact, the just-released Rutgers-Eagleton poll suggests the struggle is becoming even more severe.

At least six in ten of those facing these expenses say they have difficulty affording many of life's basic necessities.

And across every category tracked since March, more residents now describe those costs as, quote, very difficult to afford.

So, what do these numbers tell us about how Jersey households are really doing?

Joining us now is the one person who knows best, Ashley Koenig, director of the Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling at Rutgers University.

Ashley, thank you so much for coming back to see us here, this new poll out today.

And certainly it's not news to anybody that affordability is really top of the political cycle, top of mind at people's kitchen tables right now.

The news seems to be that people are feeling the crunch more intensely.

Yes, it's a deepening of the struggles that New Jerseyans have been facing and the storyline that we've seen nationwide.

I mean, this has been the buzzword affordability that has very real consequences for both the state and the country, at least for the past year and a half to two years.

And New Jerseyans are telling us not that it's just difficult, but that it is very difficult for them to afford these basic necessities.

So while we may look at the overall numbers not moving that much since the last time we pulled in the spring, it's that intensity that is increasing across the board.

And Ashley, what I found so interesting in this poll is that even folks who make six digits a year, they're saying, listen, even, you know, even though we're solidly middle class, it's tough out here for us too.

They're feeling the pinch, even people that would otherwise be assumed, you know, to be quite comfortable.

Yeah, two things here.

The pinch is being felt across the board.

I mean, looking at tangible signs of grocery prices at the supermarket, looking at the gas station, gas often over $4 now.

These are very concrete ways in which they see the impact of the economy and cost of living in their day to day lives.

And then taking that even more so, the groups who are the least privileged are struggling the most.

Those groups that are perhaps in lower income brackets, perhaps lower socioeconomic status.

These are the groups that are reporting the most difficulty.

We had a report last night from our reporter, Asha McKenzie, and she was at a community in Ocean County.

And, you know, folks there who were on fixed incomes and they were really complaining and watching the rent get higher and gas and groceries.

And so if you know it the point being that it affects a wide swath of people is heartbreaking to listen to folks and how they're making really critical life decisions based on just not being able to afford things these days.

Let me answer this too.

It's an economic story as well as a kitchen table issue, because the end of the day, if you're paying more for gas, paying more for groceries, paying more in rent, you're spending less in other areas too.

So what what do people do about that?

Where's that drop coming in if there's less disposable income at the end of the week or end of the month?

Yeah, and we pulled that in the past actually asking about, you know, are you cutting back on things that aren't considered necessities?

And this is New Jersey and telling us it's not that they're even getting rid of superfluous costs.

These are costs that they have to pay for their everyday lives and it's causing struggle.

You know, I think this goes hand in hand with how they evaluate economic conditions, both at a national level and a statewide level.

We see large majorities give negative readings about both of these economies nationally about eight and 10 have a negative outlook about three, three out of four say the same about the state.

So, you know, very subpar ratings that have continued throughout at least the past year as we continue to ask about both the national and state economic conditions.

And another subplot in all of this is black and Hispanic residents feeling the pinch even more than than others.

What what is fueling that gap?

Why do you think you know what are the numbers show there?

And then why are those communities taking or feeling an even harder hit than others?

Yeah, of course, you know, I often like to think about New Jersey is as two or more jerseys.

We have this conversation a lot in the state, where even when we look at the numbers overall, and maybe the numbers don't look great, or maybe they look, you know, somewhat average.

If we look under the hood of these numbers and look at key demographics, there are certain subgroups that are certainly struggling, certainly suffering more than most.

And New Jersey is kind of like this microcosm of the rest of the nation where we may have some of the most affluent sections, but we may have some of the most affluent sections.

We may have some of the most affluent sections in the country, but we also have some of the most underprivileged, some of the most disenfranchised, some of the most with low socioeconomic status.

So it's always important to pay attention to those key demographics to show that those who are typically struggling or who typically have difficulty in affording basic necessities are now struggling even more.

And then not to mention, we also have the issue of partisanship at play and that how that colors what people think and how they perceive economic conditions as well.

And to that point, I mean, the polls interesting in the sense that, you know, the split of how people view the Jersey economy as a state, but then the national economy, there's agreement on the Jersey side, but a real partisan divide in terms of the national perspective.

Yeah, and we know these go hand in hand, right?

But we are approaching, we are in the middle of election season, we are approaching election day.

The national political climate, of course, is hot and incredibly partisan, incredibly polarized.

And I think we see that in the national numbers.

So while Republicans in the state numbers are pretty much just as likely as Democrats and independents to give negative ratings to the state, you know, no brainer there, Democratic governor, they are much less likely to give negative ratings when it comes to the economy that is under their party leader, when we're talking about national economic conditions.

So, you know, even these views that we think are reality are also perception and also really characterized and colored by partisan cues and by kind of these partisan shortcuts that we have because of how we identify politically.

Very little is nonpartisan these days, that's for sure.

And real quick, in 15 seconds, as a political matter, who are folks blaming for the economy right now if they have a negative view?

Yeah, you know, I think we're seeing that nationwide right now.

I think this entire election cycle is a referendum on the Trump administration and on economic views.

He's at the, you know, bottom out, bottoming out in his approval ratings, as well as when it comes to specifically his approval ratings on the economy and inflation.

We've seen downward trajectories for him.

So everybody always blames whatever party is in power.

But we see this often in midterm elections and it's looking even more consequential on this one where the economy is a driving factor here.

A cost of living election, as I heard someone refer to it earlier today.

Ashley Koenig with the Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling at Rutgers University.

As always, great to see you.

Really appreciate the time and the insight.

We want to let folks know they can read the full poll at eagletonpoll.rutgers.edu.

Ashley, thanks so much.

Thanks so much, Rob.

Time now for the roundabout.

Our quick look at headlines from all across the state tonight.

First up, New Jersey just confirmed its second case of the measles this year.

And while that number is low, the concern, though, is that surrounding states are seeing a surge right now.

Earlier this week, New York declared a statewide disaster emergency due to a rise in cases, 108 so far this year, most of them in the Finger Lakes area.

Meantime, Pennsylvania has seen the highest number of measles cases in the entire country.

More than 1,000, though much of them are concentrated in the central part of the state.

But throughout the U.S., nearly 4,000 measles cases have been reported as of the start of this month.

South Jersey College is letting go of nearly two dozen teachers and staff right in the middle of the school year.

Stockton University in Galloway Township, about 20 minutes from AC, notified the staff just yesterday afternoon.

In a statement to NJPBS, the school told us that it is a difficult but necessary step and they're doing it due to their, quote, structural deficit.

The school is 20 million bucks in the hole as enrollment keeps dropping and is now well below 10,000 students.

At the same time, state aid is also dwindling.

They've even raised tuition there, but it's simply not enough to offset costs.

It's unclear if there will be more layoffs at the university this year.

And, of course, we all know about the notoriously tough traffic up and down the northeast, and everyone swears that they have the worst commute of all.

But now some folks in one New Jersey county can officially claim that distinction.

We're looking at you, Sussex County.

A new report from American Community Survey, which works with the Census Bureau, found that it takes people in Sussex 36 minutes on average to get to work.

That's just one way, so about an hour and 10 commute each workday.

Hudson County came in second, a minute shorter, followed by Warren, then Essex, then Hunterton.

In fact, of all the top 10, all average out to about an hour each day stuck in a car, train, or bus trying to get to and from work.

And I think some people are going to dispute those numbers, but we'll let you have that debate at home.

That's tonight's Roundabout.

Well, it is the biggest guessing game in Trenton right now.

Who will Governor Sherrill pick as her next lieutenant governor?

As you know by now, former Lieutenant Governor Dale Caldwell, well, he stepped down at Governor Sherrill's request.

After a state investigation alleging sexual harassment and ethical violations, while Caldwell, of course, continues to deny any wrongdoing, the attention has, of course, shifted to his successor, which the governor only has a few more weeks to make official.

With the governor presumably anxious to put the whole Caldwell mess behind her and start fresh, there is plenty of pressure and speculation surrounding this choice, arguably one of the most important in her still young administration.

Joining us now, David Wildstein, editor and chief of the New Jersey Globe and former Port Authority official in the Chris Christie administration.

David, thanks for giving us some time.

We appreciate it.

You just wrote an article kind of laying out a possible short list based on your reporting, which I trust.

I follow you for all things political breaking news in Jersey.

You never disappoint.

So good to have a little FaceTime with you tonight.

And welcome to NJPBS.

First and foremost, walk us through this list, sir.

You got a top five going on.

Tell us who these folks are.

Yeah.

I mean, first of all, it's it's only a partial list.

I don't I don't know that I have the entire list.

I would presume there are other names that are being vetted.

But what I have are five people that are on that and in no particular order, because it's incomplete.

Assemblywoman Verlina Reynolds Jackson from Trenton.

Justin Dews, who is a former associate White House counsel in the Biden administration.

Assemblyman Chicozzi on Yemma from Newark and two entrepreneurs.

One is Squire Cervantes, who ran for Congress in a primary earlier this year.

And the other is Randall Pinkett, who won Donald Trump's apprentice program in 2006.

And by the way, second time that he's under consideration.

John Corzon in 2009 came very close to picking Pinkett.

So so this is a you know, I think there's all strong names on this list.

Then there's there's others that are being bandied around.

And listen, I do have more serious questions, but let's just let's just pause and savor political life for a second.

That on Governor Sherrill's short list.

And obviously, Sherrill is a very vocal Trump critic, is a former winter of The Apprentice, not to mention Rhodes Scholar.

There's a there's a certain comedy to that, is there not?

I don't you know, I don't know, Rob, from New Jersey that I don't even know that that registers his comedy.

You know, you know, until I see a gold bar in the background, I don't know how seriously I really you know, you know, how much I worry about.

I'll tell you, in all seriousness with Pinkett is, yeah, he won The Apprentice.

And but he has opposed Donald Trump for the presidency three times.

And I think that I think that helps his credentials in terms of what what Democrats are looking for.

Fair point.

Fair point.

And listen, also political reality here.

Would you say there is pressure for Sherrill again to pick a person of color?

Yeah, I think absolutely so.

And one of the things I reported in the story is is the Reverend Charles Boyer, who is one of the most politically influential black ministers in the state, has said he thinks it should be a black man.

But but I think this is weighing on the governor.

She makes her decision.

And, you know, what we saw, God, it's not that more than a year ago where she went through an entire selection process to pick a running mate.

And all of the serious candidates were were people of color.

You know, you know, Jersey is a is a diverse state.

Democrats in particular depend upon a heavy turnout of minority voters in able to win an election in order to win an election.

So so it makes a lot of sense that that Governor Sherrill is looking in this direction.

And listen, you also have to take a serious look at the woman that she named as the acting secretary of state, which was Caldwell's job before he stepped down.

What do you think her chances are?

Because certainly, you know, the governor put her in a big spotlight role.

I mean, a new secretary of state weeks before the midterms after the voting scandal here in Jersey.

Obviously, I either reportedly they're they're close.

She put her in high profile high profile position.

You would you know that certainly would seem to even a casual observer, someone who is very much in the running as well.

Yeah.

You know, you know, I that wouldn't surprise me.

It's a great question because because Mikey Sherrill a year ago picked somebody that she didn't know that she didn't have a relationship with.

It was, you know, Dale Caldwell was brought to her.

You know, they they they got along great during the campaign.

But when you go through something like this, it's not surprising that you want to now turn to somebody that, you know, well, somebody that you've got an existing relationship with.

Surely, MLU and and and Governor Sherrill were assistant U.S.

attorneys together at the Justice Department.

They've worked together before they've known each other a long time until the governor moved to the governor's mansion.

They both they both lived in Montclair.

And and MLU was the acting state controller until until she was moved over to state two weeks ago.

But before that, she was a very much in the mix to be the attorney general of New Jersey.

So that would make a lot of sense.

And I follow you on that.

And listen, the 30,000 foot question.

I'm interested on your thoughts here because I think most people go, what's the lutes having governor really do?

Jersey's only had one.

What since oh nine.

Do we really need it?

It's kind of one of those loosely defined things.

What what is your take on that?

Forget who it is, but the actual structure of the job and need for the job itself.

Well, Rob, I apologize in advance because this is my first time on your new show, but I'm going to go nerd history nerd on you very quickly.

So when they created this system where the governor when when the governor goes out of state, the constitutional authority of the governorship falls to an acting governor.

They did this in 1844 when a governor went out of state.

That meant that the governor got on a stagecoach and traveled.

And in order to reach the governor in an emergency, they they had to send somebody out on a horse riding really fast to go find the governor and get them to come back.

Things have changed since 1844.

Governors can can govern effectively while not being within the confines of New Jersey.

So, no, the you know, the lieutenant governor in an emergency is constitutionally in charge.

Governor leaves the state that lieutenant governor can can sign bills, veto bills, make appointments, pardon people, anything that the governor can do, except that they don't do that.

And and and we've never had a rogue acting governor before.

So that's when when they when they created this new position, they said, you know what, we're not going to just create another job with no portfolio.

That's why the lieutenant governor also has to run an executive branch, a department or agency gives them another job.

A lot of people don't know this nerds like me will say fun fact.

But but the lieutenant governor has no salary that they are paid by the salary they earned through their other job.

No, I appreciate the history listener.

That's that's interesting to know.

And that makes a lot of sense.

And also, before we let you go, let me if I can get a 20 second response from you on an unrelated topic, just because it's been in the news a lot here in Jersey, that your old boss, Chris Christie, maybe eyeing another White House run.

Any reaction to that, considering the history you have with him?

You know what?

First of all, I think he should run because you can't you can't win if you don't run and you never know.

President is the one office in this country where you can come completely out of nowhere and capture the electorate.

So, you know what I what I've I'll say to you what I've said to friends.

I think back to if he runs for president now that I'm a journalist, I think back to Lou Gehrig's farewell address.

I'm the luckiest man on the face of the earth.

All right.

There we go.

We'll leave it there.

David Wildstein really enjoyed our first conversation.

Please come back.

Lord knows there's never a shortage of news and I enjoy your work.

Thank you, man.

Really appreciate it.

Thank you.

Thank you.

And that's going to do it for us tonight.

Thanks so much for watching NJ PBS news.

We will see you right back here tomorrow.

Have a good night Jersey.

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