Beloved Maryland Pastor Arrested by ICE for 24-Year Visa Overstay, Faces Deportation Proceedings

Pastor Daniel Fuentes Espinal, a father of three, was arrested by ICE while on his way to work

Daniel Fuentes Espinal, a 54-year-old father of three and longtime Maryland resident, was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on July 21 for overstaying his visa by 24 years. Originally from Santa Rita, Yoro, Honduras, Fuentes Espinal entered the United States in 2001 on a six-month visitor visa and never left, seeking refuge from widespread violence and poverty in his homeland.

Fuentes Espinal, who has served for over 15 years as a volunteer pastor at Iglesia del Nazareno Jesus Te Ama in Easton, Maryland, was taken into custody while returning to a construction site after picking up materials and breakfast. His arrest marks the latest in a series of immigration enforcement actions focused on individuals who have lived in the U.S. long term, even without criminal histories.

According to his daughter, Clarissa Fuentes Diaz, the arrest occurred after an unmarked vehicle followed him from McDonald’s. A uniformed officer eventually pulled him over and asked for identification before detaining him. ICE later confirmed his arrest, stating that “Fuentes Espinal is an illegal alien from Honduras… who overstayed the authorized period of time granted under a visitor’s visa.”

Though Fuentes Espinal has no criminal record, he was detained in Salisbury, Maryland, before being transferred to the Baltimore ICE Field Office and then to Winn Correctional Center in Winnfield, Louisiana. The transfer caused two previously scheduled immigration hearings to be canceled. His attorney is now working to determine when he will next appear before a judge and plans to request bond for his release.

Daniel Fuentes Espinal's daughter called him her hero

His family and community are devastated. His wife—his partner since age 13—has been unable to eat or sleep, overcome with anxiety about her husband's well-being. “When she’s about to eat, she just says, ‘I just don’t know if your dad ate already,’” Fuentes Diaz said tearfully.

Despite the circumstances of his arrest, Fuentes Espinal’s family says the ICE agents treated him respectfully. However, his daughter described the detention conditions as inhumane: “They were treating them worse than dogs,” she said of the Hyattsville facility.

Fuentes Espinal is well known in Easton for his selfless service to others. According to close friend Len Foxwell, “He’s opened his home to the homeless, provided food and clothing to those in need, and never asked for anything in return.” More than $20,000 has been raised via GoFundMe to cover his legal fees and support his family.

Several Democratic lawmakers, including Maryland Reps. Sarah Elfreth and Glenn Ivey and Sen. Chris Van Hollen, have condemned the arrest and are advocating for his release. In a joint letter, Elfreth and Ivey described Fuentes Espinal as “a beloved pillar” of the community and criticized the arrest as a form of racial profiling. Van Hollen added, “They are snatching up anyone they can find as they pursue their mass deportation agenda and terrorizing our communities in the process.”

Supporters have written more than a dozen letters urging his release and plan to submit them during upcoming court proceedings. Foxwell emphasized that this case goes against the stated immigration priorities of the Trump administration: “This is a family man, a man of faith, a small businessman… This is not what the American people asked for.”

Fuentes Espinal’s family remains hopeful that he will be granted bond and allowed to remain in the U.S., the only home his children have ever known.