### Maryland Pastor Reunited With Family After ICE Detention
EASTON, MD—Pastor Daniel Fuentes Espinal is back with his loved ones, nearly a month after ICE took him for overstaying his visa for 25 years. The 54-year-old pastor returned home after getting bond at an ICE center in Louisiana. Family friend Len Foxwell said, “Pastor Fuentes Espinal and his family are together again for the first time since that terrible morning of July 21, when a pastor and father of three left for work and never came home.” Foxwell shared the news in a social media post that brought many in the community to tears.
Foxwell reported that everyone is overjoyed to see the pastor back and that his family will keep pushing to secure a green card for him. “Pastor Fuentes Espinal is the backbone of this community,” Foxwell said. “He’s been here 24 years, never been in trouble with the law, and has served as the moral and spiritual guide for our close-knit Eastern Shore family.”
**Community Support**
While the pastor was detained, people in the community collected money to help the family with lawyer and travel costs. Fuentes Espinal’s oldest daughter, Clarissa Fuentes Diaz, flew to Louisiana to bring him home. “I’m so happy, my heart is completely full,” she said in a video to the community. “Thank you so much, and may God bless you.”
**Detention Details**
Pastor Fuentes Espinal leads Iglesia Del Nazareno Jesus Te Ama and works in construction. He has been in the U.S. since 2001 and has never been arrested. ICE says he “entered the United States on a 6-month visa and never left in 24 years,” which they treat as a federal violation.
After his arrest, the pastor was moved through detention centers in Salisbury, then Baltimore, and finally to the Winn Correctional Facility in Louisiana. Foxwell reports that the time in the Baltimore facility was especially brutal: “He was on a cold bench for three days with hardly any food, no private shower or sink, no bed, and phone calls that cost $50, with only a few to make.”
### Public and Political Reaction
News of the pastor’s detention set off protests and a wave of backing. Activist Annalese Estepp led a rally outside the Baltimore ICE office, calling for kindness: “There’s no point in hating now. We need to come and love each other harder than ever.”
U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen backed the family, saying his office has stayed in close touch with the Fuentes Espinal family the whole time.
Now that the pastor has been released, he is celebrating with his family and church while the fight for his permanent residency goes on.
