Longtime and Beloved Minister of Easton Church Arrested by ICE

 Pastor Daniel Fuentes Espinal

An Easton minister who was born in Honduras and has lived in the United States for nearly 25 years was detained Monday morning by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Pastor Daniel Fuentes Espinal, who has served as the minister of Iglesia del Nazareno Jesús Te Ama church since 2015, was arrested early on July 21 after departing Lowe’s after picking up some construction materials, his daughter told local media. An ICE vehicle followed him to the nearby McDonald’s, and later arrested him on Route 322 after he ate his breakfast.

According to published reports, he was first taken to Salisbury and then transferred to the Baltimore ICE detention center, where he awaits further transfer. The daughter, Clarissa Fuentes Diaz, said Espinal is a father of three with a large extended family, and has no criminal record.  Espinal’s family has tried to obtain citizenship legally for years, but due to backlogs and expenses, Espinal remained undocumented, Diaz told local media.

Matthew R. Peters, executive director of the Chesapeake Multicultural Resource Center, which provides outreach services to immigrants, said such detentions are not new but appear to be ramping up. The detention of a prominent member of his community has raised the profile of the issue and may point to further detentions in the future.

“This is nothing new for this community,” Peters said. “In this case, people on the outside are feeling injustice. But everyone who is taken causes an impact on their family and friends.”

Since the start of the second Trump administration in January, immigration arrests have doubled in Maryland, according to the Deportation Data Project, an academic research-based initiative to track deportations. More than 600 immigrants with no criminal record have been arrested during that timespan.

Community members have come out in vigorous support for Espinal, with over 10 character letters written on his behalf, including Len Foxwell, a retired state official and communications strategist. Espinal spoke at the July funeral of Foxwell’s son Darren, who died in an auto accident earlier this summer and was a friend of Espinal’s son Daniel.

“If there is anyone who exemplifies the teachings of Christ and the true values of the Christian faith, it is Pastor Espinal,” Foxwell wrote on his Facebook page. “This [arrest] isn’t about securing the southern border, nor is it about making our communities safe. This is a human tragedy that has torn apart a hard-working family led by one who has given so much to others.

Peters said anyone who may be vulnerable to ICE detention should have a plan in place and work to understand the process through trusted resources with accurate information, noting the danger of scammers preying on immigrants worried about potential arrest.