Pastor Held in ICE Detention Was Denied a Bible for Nearly a Week During Holy Week

A New Jersey pastor arrested by federal immigration agents spent nearly a week behind bars without access to a Bible — even as Holy Week, one of the most sacred periods in the Christian calendar, was just getting underway. His detention has ignited concern among faith leaders across the country who say the case raises serious questions about religious freedom, due process, and the human cost of immigration enforcement.

Yeison Cortes Vasquez, 46, leads The Gathering Place Church in New Jersey, where he has spent years visiting the sick, organizing Bible studies, and serving his community through some of its hardest moments. He was formally credentialed as a minister just six months ago. On March 20, ICE agents stopped him while he was working a delivery route in Newark, reportedly over a vehicle registration issue. He has been held at Delaney Hall Detention Center in New Jersey ever since.

His family says he has an active asylum case pending. He has no criminal record and has never been arrested.

Turned Away at the Door

When members of his church attempted to bring a Bible to Cortes Vasquez at the detention facility, staff turned them away. For close to a week, he had no access to religious scripture — even as church members say he was already offering spiritual support to other detainees around him. The facility eventually allowed him to purchase a Bible through its internal commissary system.

For the people who know him best, that sequence of events is difficult to accept.

"To know that he was denied access to a Bible for nearly a week, especially as we enter Holy Week, is deeply painful and troubling for our entire church family," said Reverend Enid Almanzar, Chairwoman of the National Latino Evangelical Coalition. "We are holding fast to our faith while calling for compassion, dignity, and the protection of our most fundamental freedoms for citizens and immigrants alike — especially our right to worship without government interference."

Legal advocates say the issue goes beyond the emotional. According to the ACLU National Prison Project, federal courts have ruled that blocking detainees from accessing religious literature is a violation of the First Amendment.

A Family Left Behind

Back home, Cortes Vasquez's wife and three daughters are navigating an incredibly difficult stretch without him. Faith leaders who have been in contact with the family say the children are visibly struggling.

"His daughters are shaken up," said Rev. Dr. Gabriel Salguero, President of the National Latino Evangelical Coalition. "One of them doesn't want to eat. She's losing her appetite."

Salguero has also spoken to how central Cortes Vasquez is to the people around him.

"We're heartbroken…he's a vital part of the church," said Rev. Dr. Salguero.

His case is far from isolated. A recent report produced jointly by the National Association of Evangelicals, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, and World Relief found that approximately 1 in 12 Christians in America either faces deportation risk themselves or lives in a household where someone does. That figure underscores just how broadly immigration enforcement is touching faith communities throughout the country.

The National Latino Evangelical Coalition has announced it will hold a press conference Thursday outside the Newark detention facility, calling on federal authorities to release Cortes Vasquez. His congregation continues to pray for his freedom and for his family as they wait out what has become, for them, a very different kind of Holy Week.