Two Texas Pastors Released After ICE Detention on Way to Billy Graham Retreat
Nepthali Zozaya Saucedo and Cinthia Sarai Cardona Otero, assistant pastors at an Assemblies of God church in Edinburg, Texas, were detained by immigration agents at McAllen airport in late July while traveling to a Billy Graham Evangelistic Association retreat in North Carolina. The couple alleged agents threatened to separate them from their three U.S.-citizen children. They were released July 25 under an Alternatives to Detention program.
Two assistant pastors from Edinburg, Texas were detained by federal immigration agents on July 23 and 24, 2026, while traveling to a Billy Graham Evangelistic Association retreat in North Carolina.
Nepthali Zozaya Saucedo and his wife, Cinthia Sarai Cardona Otero, serve at Comunidad Cristiana Emanuel, an Assemblies of God congregation that sponsored their entry into the United States nearly a decade ago. They were taken into custody at McAllen Miller International Airport.
The Department of Homeland Security said the couple overstayed visas that expired in 2022. Their congregation and faith advocates disputed that account, saying the pastors held valid religious worker visas and had filed for adjustment of status to lawful permanent residence.
The couple alleged that during their two-day detention, agents pressured them to sign voluntary departure documents by threatening to separate them from their three children, who are U.S. citizens, and to deport them to different countries. Cardona said she was interrogated at 2:00 a.m. and that agents mocked her faith.
A DHS spokesperson denied the allegations of pressure, saying the administration was using lawful options to carry out deportation operations.
U.S. Representative Henry Cuellar intervened in the case. The couple was released July 25 under an Alternatives to Detention program, which requires periodic contact with ICE while removal proceedings continue.
Religious organizations including the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference and Border Perspective called for due process and protection of immigrant families.
