NEWARK, New Jersey (WABC) — A prayer vigil was held Thursday morning in Newark, calling for the safe return of a pastor detained by ICE.<\/p>\n
Pastor Yeison Cortes Vasquez was taken into custody by ICE on March 20 and remains behind bars at Delaney Hall.<\/p>\n
Officials at the Department of Homeland Security say he was in the country illegally after overstaying his visa in 2016.<\/p>\n
On Thursday morning, two members of Congress went to the privately run facility to pay him a visit and see the conditions inside.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
They called Delaney Hall a warehouse of human souls where health is poor and the food is deplorable.<\/p>\n
Menendez challenged his colleagues to come and visit the facility.<\/p>\n
“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.<\/p>\n
Supporters say he was following the law and believe a man of God should not be a target of ICE enforcement.<\/p>\n
“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.<\/p>\n
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