[1] He is best known for a series of successful legal challenges to oppose laws that have both restricted and criminalized eagle feather possession by Native Americans.
[5] In addition to McAllen Grace Brethren Church, Soto was also responsible for the founding of four American Indian congregations.
Fish and Wildlife Service, and he was investigating the Lipan Apache Tribe of Texas for possession of eagle feathers.
Authorities agreed to end a criminal investigation into the pastor in exchange for his signature on a voluntary abandonment of said eagle fathers.
[13] The bureaucratic system that governs the distribution of eagle feathers has long been a source of contention for Indigenous religious practitioners.
[11] There have been challenges from ineligible parties on the grounds that distinguishing between tribal nations with federal recognition and other Americans is a violation of the First Amendment's free exercise clause and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
[12] In 2010, Soto testified on behalf of Erick Ricardo Bonilla, a 32-year-old oilfield worker and father of six who had been living in Odessa, Texas, as an undocumented immigrant since June 2004.
[16] According to court documents and testimony, because of his tribal affiliation, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement "approved his case" and allowed him to remain in the United States after misdemeanor arrests resulted in his internment at the Ector County Detention Center.
Bonilla's Legal representation argued that he should be allowed to remain in the United States under the promise of "perpetual friendship" outlined in an arcane treaty between the Lipan Apache people and the Republic of Texas.
[19] On August 21, 2016, the Fifth Circuit held that the Department of the Interior had failed to show that a regulation preventing possession of bald and golden eagle feathers was the least restrictive means of furthering an asserted governmental interest and did not violate the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA).
[22] In 2016, the two sides reached an agreement that recognized the right of Soto and approximately 400 members of his congregation to use eagle feathers in observance of their faith.
Part of the settlement also included the federal government agreeing to review the current laws concerning eagle feather possession and consider changes in its policies.
Fish and Wildlife Service asking for revision to the current legal guidelines about the religious use of federally protected bird feathers.
[13] In April 2019, in response to Soto's victory in McAllen Grace Brethren Church v. Jewell, the Department of the Interior, "published a proposed rule to end the criminalization of eagle feather possession and expand existing protections for federally-recognized Native American tribes to cover members of state-recognized tribes as well".