NJ Pastor Released From ICE Detention Center After Three Weeks

By Sophie Nieto-Munoz, New Jersey Monitor

April 20, 2026

An Elizabeth pastor has been released from Newark migrant jail, Delaney Hall nearly three weeks after being detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The Rev. Yeison Cortes Vasquez was held a total of 18 days after being released and reunited with his family, the National Latino Evangelical Coalition said in a social media post. Rob Menendez (D-08) and other critics of the Trump administration’s mass deportation effort have cited Cortes Vasquez’s detainment as an example of the administration’s overreach.

“What was once a moment of deep lament has now become a testimony of hope, justice, and the power of faithful advocacy,” the post reads.

Cortes Vasquez is a pastor at The Gathering Place, an evangelical church in Elizabeth.

On Saturday, supporters captured video of him leaving Delaney Hall — where he had been held since he was detained on March 20 — and emotional scenes of him reuniting with his family and supporters.

The National Latino Evangelical Coalition said Cortes Vasquez was delivering an order from Walmart when he was pulled over by immigration agents and arrested. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said he arrived in the U.S. from Colombia in January 2016 on a tourist visa that required him to leave by July of that year, but he “knowingly overstayed his visa by nearly a decade.”

“Vasquez has been released on bond with a GPS monitor while he undergoes further removal proceedings. He will receive full due process,” a Homeland Security spokesperson said.

Fellow pastors and elected officials including Menendez rallied outside of the Newark detention center days before Easter to call for his release. Menendez said on Monday that officials “won’t stop until this national nightmare is over.”

The coalition said that while immigration officials alleged he had missed a court date, Cortes Vasquez did not have an upcoming court date.

His next court appearance is scheduled for April 16.

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