EASTON, Md. - Pastor Daniel Fuentes Espinal, 54, of Easton, was arrested and detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on July 21 after being accused of overstaying his visa for 24 years.
Len Foxwell, a friend and former neighbor of Fuentes Espinal, told CoastTV News that the detention occurred moments after the pastor, who also works in construction, visited a Lowe’s store on his way to work.
"He had all of his building materials, building equipment, everything he needed to go out and put in a day’s work, and that’s when he was pulled over," Foxwell said.
Fuentes Espinal, a husband and father of three originally from Honduras, has been part of Iglesia del Nazareno Jesús Te Ama in Easton for well over a decade, CoastTV learned. He is currently being held in a detention facility in Louisiana.
Damaris Aguirre, who has been friends with Fuentes Espinal for more than a decade, described him as a noble and respectful man.
"I think everyone here in Easton who knows him is saddened," Aguirre told CoastTV in Spanish. "The sadness of the fact that he is a good person, who doesn't go around hurting anyone, but rather helps others find the right path. It's sad that they focus on people like that."
Cristal Herrera, who works at La Selecta, a Hispanic store in downtown Easton, said Fuentes Espinal's wife is a frequent customer.
"It is something unfortunate that they took him away, especially since he has been good; he is a support for the Easton community," Herrera said.
Foxwell explained that his family's connection to Fuentes Espinal's family runs deep. His son, Darren, who died recently in a car accident, was best friends with the pastor's son, Daniel.
"His relationship with Daniel, the pastor's son, was such that Daniel was at my son's bedside at Maryland Shock Trauma on the day he was pronounced dead," Foxwell said. "Pastor Fuentes Espinal spoke at my son's funeral services on July 2. So I mention that only to say that the relationship between our families and my personal commitment to the pastor and to his family runs very, very deep."
"Daniel spent most of his childhood under my roof and Darren, my son, spent most of his childhood under Pastor Fuentes Espinal's roof, and that's why Darren had some of the best food you could ever imagine growing up because it's just the warmest, the most loving household environment you could ever imagine, but my goodness, the food that was placed on that dinner table, you have to see to believe," Foxwell added.
He said he felt shock, anger, and fear when he learned about the detention.
"We've been hearing right from the start that Donald Trump was going to be going after the worst of the worst, but he was going to be going after the gangs, the most violent criminals, and he was going to be working on securing the southern border wall. None of that has anything whatsoever to do with Pastor Fuentes Espinal," Foxwell told CoastTV.
Foxwell told CoastTV that Fuentes Espinal has a bond review hearing scheduled for early next week. Friends and supporters hope he can post bond and be reunited with his loved ones.
"We're just going to do everything we can to make sure that his defense is fortified, that he's ready and his legal team is ready to do everything humanly possible to make the reasonable case for why he must be allowed to stay here in the United States, where he has built a remarkable American life with his family, his loved ones in the community who depend so much upon him," Foxwell said.
Foxwell noted that Fuentes Espinal has been trying for years to obtain documentation and follow the process toward citizenship.
"The system is broken, and he has been working; he has been trying to cross all of his T's and dot all of his I's, and then there will inevitably be a missing step or an administrative error, and he gets thrown right back to the beginning of the process. This has been going on now over and over for over a decade," he said.
A GoFundMe has been created to "cover Pastor Fuentes Espinal's growing legal expenses and provide his family with basic needs in the absence of their primary breadwinner." So far, it has raised more than $50,000.
On July 23, in a letter sent to the Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, Maryland's congressional representatives Sarah Elfreth and Glenn Ivey called for Fuentes Espinal's release.
According to the lawmakers, Fuentes Espinal has no criminal record.
"His arrest and detention by ICE does nothing to further your stated goals of making America safer," part of the joint letter reads.
CoastTV reached out to Iglesia del Nazareno Jesús Te Ama for comment, but has not heard back.