To advocate for Espinal’s release, more than a dozen community members have written letters. The content can also be submitted for future hearings.
Espinal spent one day detained in Maryland and was then transferred to Louisiana. He will be held in custody before his trial. Since Espinal was transferred to another location, some hearings had already been rescheduled. He awaits his bond hearing first, where he expects to be able to request bond. It’s unclear when these next steps will take place.
“Through his church ministry, Pastor Espinal has dedicated his life to improving the lives of some of his community’s most vulnerable members,” said Maryland Reps. Sarah Elfreth and Glenn Ivey. “While we support efforts to detain and deport dangerous criminals, we reiterate that Pastor Espinal has no criminal record.”
A GoFundMe was created for Espinal and his family—attempting to cover his legal bills. At the time of this article, more than 500 donations had raised $42,000 of the $50,000 goal.
Espinal’s Wife and Family Advocate for Release
Daniel Fuentes Espinal has been with his wife since they were teenagers. But their home in Honduras became unsafe.
“It’s not safe, you’re scared walking around town, just looking behind your shoulder, violence, gangs, corruption, it’s not an ideal place to raise a family, not ideal to work,” said Clarissa Fuentes Diaz, the couple’s daughter.
She is doing her best to communicate with and advocate for her father while also ensuring her distraught mother still eats and sleeps as best she can.
According to Fuentes Diaz, her father was given no warning or explanation for the arrest.
“My dad was just confused the whole time, and they cuffed him, put him in the back of the car,” said Fuentes Diaz. “We don’t know everything that people go through, but my dad said he had a different experience than what he’s seen on TV. They were nice to him. They put him in the car, and they drove off.”
Fuentes Diaz calls her dad her “hero” who has “sacrificed so much” for the family and their future.
, who was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) last week.){kind=link}