NEWARK, New Jersey (WABC) — A prayer vigil was held Thursday morning in Newark, calling for the safe return of a pastor detained by ICE.
Pastor Yeison Cortes Vasquez was taken into custody by ICE on March 20 and remains behind bars at Delaney Hall.
Officials at the Department of Homeland Security say he was in the country illegally after overstaying his visa in 2016.
On Thursday morning, two members of Congress went to the privately run facility to pay him a visit and see the conditions inside.
Reps. Robert Menendez Jr. from New Jersey and Adriano Espaillat from New York met with Cortes Vasquez. They say he is in a room with other detainees and six of them have a serious cough due to poor ventilation.
They say the pastor continues to minister to those inside as he has done for 10 years as a member of The Gathering Place in Elizabeth.
Church members and the Latino clergy say he was seeking asylum from Colombia and followed all the rules to get his citizenship and attended every hearing.
The members of Congress and supporters say he is not a criminal and a family man who is being denied a bible on Holy week.
They called Delaney Hall a warehouse of human souls where health is poor and the food is deplorable.
Menendez challenged his colleagues to come and visit the facility.
“I would say to my three Republican colleagues in New Jersey who can continue to peddle the lies of this administration, none of whom have come here,” Menendez said.
Supporters say he was following the law and believe a man of God should not be a target of ICE enforcement.
“What I know is that Pastor Yeison has an asylum claim, what I know is that we have a broken system that breaks people,” said the Rev. Dr. Gabriel Salguero.
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