A married couple — both pastors in the U.S. on religious worker visas — were arrested by federal immigration agents at a Texas airport on their way to a Billy Graham Evangelistic Association retreat in North Carolina.
The Department of Homeland Security said Cinthia Sarai Cardona Otero was arrested July 23 at McAllen Miller International Airport, while her husband, Nepthali Zozaya Saucedo, was arrested the next day.
Both are assistant pastors at Comunidad Cristiana Emanuel, the Assemblies of God church in Edinburg, Texas, that sponsored their entry into the United States nearly a decade ago.
A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said the Mexican nationals overstayed visas that expired in 2022, Religion News Service reported.
But it is not as simple as that, according to Comunidad Cristiana Emanuel Co-Pastor Sarai Martinez Luna and multiple faith groups backing Zozaya and Cardona through their ordeal.
The congregation has been working to help the ministers gain permanent residency, Luna explained. “Before (the visas) expired we filed for an adjustment in a timely fashion,” KRGV-TV in Weslaco, Texas reported.
Mereida Bazan Gonzales
And it is untrue that Zozaya and Cardona are in the country illegally, said Merelda Bazan Gonzalez, a board member for the Latino Christian National Network, one of several faith groups that have risen in support of the couple: “Pastors Nepthali and Cinthia are religious visa holders who have been awaiting adjudication of their applications for lawful permanent residence. Both have already received approval of their religious visa petition and are currently awaiting adjustment of status. Both have work authorization.”
During a press conference after Sunday worship, Cardona said she and her husband had all the necessary documents with them at the airport to prove their immigration status, according to Christianity Today. “Our intention — from the moment God brought us to this country — has been to honor him and obey the laws.”
Henry Cuellar
U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, who negotiated with DHS for the couple’s July 25 release after two days detention, said ICE should be rounding up the “worst of the worst” of undocumented immigrants instead of clergy.
“They are going for low-hanging fruit (by targeting) religious folks. I don’t believe in abolishing ICE, but I believe in having safeguards and focusing on criminals, not pastors,” he said.
According to Border Report, Cardona and Zozaya were released under “Alternatives to Detention,” an ICE program that allows immigrants to remain in their communities as they undergo the removal process. It requires them to call ICE monthly and to report in person in six months.
In a call with reporters from detention July 25, Zozaya said he and his wife were pressured by authorities to sign documents for voluntary deportation, RNS reported.
ICE agents threatened prolonged detention and separation from their three young children and that they would be deported separately to third countries instead of Mexico.
A DHS spokesperson denied the accusations. “It is categorically false we would pressure someone to self-deport. The Trump administration is utilizing all lawful options to carry out the largest deportation operation in history, just as President Trump promised.”
The couple did sign the documents but were able to formally retract their signatures.
Cardona also recounted a 2 a.m. interrogation in which she claimed agents mocked and swore at her. “‘The first time I went up to an agent, for a moment I felt peace because (they) began to mention the Bible to me, but then (they) began to mock me, because (they) said, ‘You Christians think that you can put God before everything and disobey the laws.’”
Faith groups that have spoken up for the couple include Border Perspective, Conexión Pastoral, the Connected Americans Initiative and the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference.
The situation comes on the heels of ICE’s arrest of a Catholic nun as she walked to mass in McAllen on June 28. While she was quickly released, Sister Leticia Ugboaja, a native of Nigeria also known as Sister Letty, still faces deportation.
“Sister Letty is a well-known source of goodness and hope in our community, and I am grateful she has been released,” said Bishop Daniel E. Flores of the Diocese of Brownsville.
“There are many questions remaining about the circumstances surrounding Sister Letty’s arrest and detention. For now, it is clear that Homeland Security enforcement protocols that make it possible for a religious sister, or anyone, to be detained and handcuffed while peacefully walking to church on a Sunday morning are wildly disturbing and need to be reformed.”
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