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

By Alaa Elassar, CNN

(CNN) — 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 teenagers – 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 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 United States legally on student visas and green cards.

Fuentes 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, Fuentes Espinal was pulled over by a uniformed officer and detained.

ICE confirmed Fuentes 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 Fuentes Espinal’s arrest and overstayed visa.

Fuentes 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.

Fuentes Espinal immigrated to the US in 2001 with his wife and infant daughter and has since been living in the country on his expired visa, Fuentes Diaz said. Online court records in Maryland indicate that Fuentes Espinal has no criminal history. His daughter also confirmed he has no criminal record.

The pastor was held for one day in an office in Salisbury, Maryland, before he was 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 Winnfield, Louisiana, on Thursday, his daughter said. Fuentes Espinal has gotten a lawyer, but the change of location forced two scheduled immigration hearings Friday to be cancelled, she said. The attorney representing him was trying to determine Friday morning when Fuentes Espinal would next appear in front of a judge.

Fuentes 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 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,” Len Foxwell, a close friend, told CNN.

More than $20,000 has been donated to a GoFundMe launched by Foxwell to raise money for Fuentes Espinal’s legal expenses and to help cover the basic needs of his family until his return.

Originally from Santa Rita in Yoro, Honduras, Fuentes Espinal immigrated to the US to flee the widespread poverty and violence that gripped his hometown, his daughter told CNN. He sought a safer and more stable future for his family.

“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.

Several Democratic lawmakers have called for Fuentes Espinal’s release.

In a letter condemning his arrest, Maryland Reps. Sarah Elfreth and Glenn Ivey called Fuentes Espinal “a beloved pillar” of Easton and accused 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. “His arrest and detention by ICE does nothing to further your stated goals of making America safer.”

Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland said Trump administration is not targeting immigrants who are considered dangerous criminals.

“They are snatching up anyone they can find as they pursue their mass deportation agenda and terrorizing our communities in the process,” Van Hollen said 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 plan to submit them 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.”

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CNN’s Andy Rose contributed to this report.