EASTON, Md. - 54-year-old Pastor Daniel Fuentes Espinal from Easton was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on July 21 after being accused of overstaying his visa for 24 years.
One of Pastor Fuentes Espinal’s friends told CoastTV his detention occurred moments after he visited a Lowe's store on his way to work.
Pastor Fuentes Espinal, a husband and father of three, is now in a detention facility in Louisiana.
Damaris Aguirre has been friends with Fuentes Espinal for more than a decade. She 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."
Len Foxwell, a former neighbor, said his family’s connection to Fuentes Espinal’s family runs deep. Foxwell’s son, Darren, who recently died 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."
Cristal Herrera, who works at La Selecta, a Hispanic store in downtown Easton, said Pastor 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.
CoastTV was told Fuentes Espinal is part of Iglesia del Nazareno Jesús Te Ama in Easton.
"The church is very sad about what is happening to them, because it is not easy that overnight the pastor, who is the one in charge of everything there in the church, is not there," Aguirre said.
Foxwell told CoastTV Pastor Fuentes Espinal has a bond review hearing scheduled for early next week. They hope he can post bond and ultimately be reunited with his loved ones.
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 $50,000.