Pastor and father of 3 arrested for overstaying visa a quarter-century ago

CNN

a day ago

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A Maryland pastor who fled Honduras 24 years ago to escape poverty and violence is waiting to hear when he will face an immigration judge after his arrest this week by Immigration and Customs Enforcement for overstaying his visa in 2001, his family said.
Daniel Fuentes Espinal, a 54-year-old father of three, is expected to request bond during his initial hearing at the Louisiana immigration facility to which he was transferred. His family – especially his wife, whom he has been with since they were 13 – hopes for his release but is struggling with his absence.
'We've been on top of her for her to eat, sleep, but when she's about it to eat, she just says, 'I just don't know if your dad ate already,'' his daughter, Clarissa Fuentes Diaz said, crying.
The pastor's arrest is the one of the latest in the Trump administration's barrage of immigration cases, targeting not only undocumented migrants but also people living in the US legally on student visas and green cards.
Espinal picked up a breakfast burrito from McDonald's when he noticed an unmarked vehicle following him, his daughter told CNN. As he made his way back to a construction site with materials he purchased at a nearby Lowe's, Espinal was pulled over by a uniformed officer and detained.
ICE confirmed Espinal's arrest in a statement to CNN.
'Daniel Omar Fuentes Espinal is an illegal alien from Honduras who was arrested by ICE on July 21, in Easton, Maryland,' the statement said.
'Fuentes entered the United States on a 6-month visa and never left in 24 years. It is a federal crime to overstay the authorized period of time granted under a visitors visa.'
CNN has asked ICE for more details on Espinal's arrest and overstayed visa.
Espinal was given no explanation for why he was stopped and was only asked for identification before being detained, his daughter said.
'My dad was just confused the whole time, and they cuffed him, put him in the back of the car,' Fuentes Diaz said. 'We don't know everything that people go through, but my dad said he had a different experience than what he's seen on TV. They were nice to him. They put him in the car, and they drove off.'
However, conditions in the immigration detention facility in Hyattsville, Maryland, were worse, Fuentes Diaz told CNN on Friday morning.
'They were treating them worse than dogs,' she said.
Espinal immigrated to the US in 2001 with his wife and infant daughter and has since been living in the US on his expired visa, Fuentes Diaz said. He has no criminal record, she added.
He was held for one day in an office in Salisbury, Maryland, before being moved to a holding room at the Baltimore ICE Field Office, where he slept on a bench without a bed, his daughter said.
He was transferred to the Winn Correctional Center in Louisiana on Thursday, his daughter said. Espinal has gotten a lawyer, but the change of location forced two scheduled immigration hearings Friday to be cancelled, she said. Espinal's attorney was still trying to determine Friday morning when his client would next appear in front of a judge.
Espinal works in construction to support his family and has spent the last 15 years as a volunteer pastor at Iglesia del Nazareno Jesus Te Ama, also known as the Church of the Nazarene Jesus Loves You, where he is known within his community for his sermons and generosity.
'Pastor Fuentes Espinal is a beloved pillar of the Easton community known across town for providing shelter to those who need a place to sleep, for opening up his home and providing food and clothing to those who are at the most vulnerable point in their lives, and he never expects anything in return,' close friend Len Foxwell told CNN.
More than $20,000 has been donated to a GoFundMe launched by Foxwell to raise money for Espinal's legal expenses and provide his family with basic needs until his return.
Originally from Santa Rita in Yoro, Honduras, Espinal immigrated to the US in search of a safer and more stable future for his family and to flee the widespread poverty and violence that gripped his hometown, his daughter told CNN.
'It's not safe, you're scared walking around town, just looking behind your shoulder, violence, gangs, corruption, it's not an ideal place to raise a family, not ideal to work' Fuentes Diaz said.
'There's no jobs that pay enough to … make a living,' she said.
'He's my hero. He has done so much for me, as his daughter, he sacrificed so much for me to have a better future,' she added.
Maryland Reps. Sarah Elfreth and Glenn Ivey called for Espinal's release in a letter condemning his arrest and accusing the Trump administration of 'indiscriminately profiling and targeting individuals based on their skin color.'
'Through his church ministry, Pastor Espinal has dedicated his life to improving the lives of some of his community's most vulnerable members.' the lawmakers wrote in the letter. 'His arrest and detention by ICE does nothing to further your stated goals of making America safer.'
'The Trump Administration clearly isn't targeting the most dangerous criminals living in the U.S. illegally – they are snatching up anyone they can find as they pursue their mass deportation agenda and terrorizing our communities in the process,' said Sen. Chris Van Hollen in a statement. 'My team is engaged with Pastor Espinal's family and I will be monitoring this closely.'
More than a dozen letters have been written by loved ones and community members, including Foxwell, to support and advocate for his release and will submitted for consideration at future court proceedings.
'This is not what President Trump campaigned on, and it's not what the American people asked for. He campaigned on securing the southern border, on ridding our nation of some of its most violent criminals and curtailing gang activity. None of those things have any applicability here,' Foxwell said.
'This is a this is a family man, a man of faith, a small businessman who was literally just going to work to put in a full day's work to feed his family.'
CNN's Andy Rose contributed to this report.