Maryland pastor returns home after being detained by ICE

Pastor Daniel Fuentes Espinal reunited with his family in Maryland late last week after spending three weeks in an immigration detention facility, according to a social media post from a family friend. In a video posted online Sunday, the 54-year-old pastor of Iglesia del Nazareno Jesus Te Ama in Easton thanked his community for praying for him and his family during his detention.

Espinal entered the United States from Honduras on a 6-month visa 24 years ago and never left, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement told CBS News. He has served as a pastor at his church in Maryland since 2015 and has raised three children with his wife. In another video posted online, Espinal said he had shared the hope of Jesus with other detainees and that some accepted Christ as their savior.

How was he detained? Federal authorities stopped Espinal on July 21 after he stopped for breakfast on his way to a construction job, according to local media. Following his arrest, officials detained him for several days at a holding facility in Baltimore before they transferred him to an immigration center in Louisiana. Authorities granted him bond last week, and his daughter traveled to Louisiana to accompany him home.

Espinal’s advocates have said he has been trying to adjust his legal status for years after arriving in the United States. The anti-Trump group Indivisible organized a solidarity rally in Baltimore in late July for Espinal. A GoFundMe campaign created to support Espinal’s family raised more than $51,000 as of Monday.

Dig deeper: Read Addie Offereins’ report in WORLD Magazine about religious groups suing the Trump Administration over its new immigrant arrest policy.