(RNS) — A Seventh-day Adventist pastor was detained by immigration agents last week at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston.
Pastor Luis Morales Pérez leads four Adventist congregations in the Houston area and holds “valid employment authorization,” the Texas Conference of Seventh-day Adventists said in a statement. The Department of Homeland Security told RNS that Morales was detained August 6 at the airport.
“His commitment to our mission and the families he serves is unwavering,” the Texas Adventists wrote, asking for people “to join us in prayer for Pastor Morales and his family that the situation may be resolved quickly.”
Morales, a 50-year-old father of two, according to Telemundo Houston, is at least the third Texas pastor detained by immigration agents at an airport in the last month. The arrests come as the Trump administration has begun detaining people with expired visas at airports, including those who have work permits and pending applications — a group that was not previously targeted for detention.
In July, Assemblies of God Pastors Nepthali Zozaya Saucedo and Cinthia Sarai Cardona Otero, assistant pastors at Comunidad Cristiana Emanuel in Edinburg, Texas, were detained in the airport and released two days later. The two said that they were threatened with separation from their children and deportation to separate third countries if they did not sign voluntary departure papers.
In a statement to RNS, a DHS spokesperson said that Morales “legally entered the United States on January 10, 2020, with permission to remain until July 9, 2020. In violation of our nation’s laws, Morales Perez overstayed his welcome. He will receive full due process and remain in ICE custody pending the outcome of his removal proceedings.”
According to Telemundo Houston, DHS said that Morales, a Venezuelan, was granted Temporary Protected Status in 2023, which was revoked last year. Telemundo Houston said DHS declined to comment on Morales’ pending asylum claim, citing privacy laws.
The couple were on their way to New York for a vacation when they were stopped just steps inside the airport by immigration agents. Morales’ wife handed the agents his blood pressure medication before he was taken away in handcuffs. He is now in Livingston Detention Center and has told his family on the phone that he is unable to sleep, Telemundo Houston reported.
Morales’ lawyer told Telemundo that she is seeking Morales’ release on bond.
In the Telemundo report, Morales’ Bible is surrounded by notes from his congregants. His wife, sobbing, reads one aloud from a congregant, Pablo, that says he and his fiancée are waiting for Morales to officiate their wedding on August 30.
Lidia Terrazas, a national correspondent for Univision, visited Morales’ house earlier this week and posted a video on Instagram, panning to notes left by members of his church. Dozens of prayers and messages of support were handwritten on sticky notes and had been dropped off at his home.
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“Head up, knees down, God is in control. This is a test that will pass,” said one note, written in Spanish, that was visible in the video. “God opens doors.”
Morales’ detainment comes just three weeks after dozens of Texas faith leaders gathered in the state Capitol to protest the “terror campaign” being waged against migrants in Texas and throughout the nation.