Pastor Luis Morales Pérez returned to the pulpit Sunday after being released from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody on a $12,000 bond.
Morales, 50, was detained by federal agents on Aug. 6 at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston while traveling with his family to New York, according to the Houston Chronicle. The newspaper reported that he posted bond and was released Wednesday.
While in custody, Morales was held at an ICE detention facility in Livingston, Texas, north of Houston, according to reports from the Houston Press and Univision Houston.
A native of Venezuela, Morales previously received Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, which allows eligible nationals from countries facing extraordinary conditions such as war or natural disasters to temporarily live and work in the United States. TPS does not provide permanent residency, and protections for Venezuelan nationals were terminated last year under the Trump administration.
Morales said he had not expected federal immigration authorities to detain him because he believed enforcement efforts were focused primarily on people with final deportation orders or criminal histories.
Morales, who has served in ministry for 19 years, has overseen four Seventh-day Adventist congregations in the Houston area through the Texas Conference of Seventh-day Adventists since January 2023.
An ICE spokesperson in Houston later said that people living in the United States without valid legal status may be subject to removal proceedings.
At the time he was detained, Morales had authorization to work in the United States and a pending asylum application. Immigration authorities have said that a work permit alone does not establish lawful immigration status and that an unresolved asylum case does not necessarily shield an applicant from detention.
Morales is scheduled to appear in immigration court on Sept. 9. As a condition of his release, he is also required to wear an ankle monitor.
Morales, his wife and their two daughters came to the United States from Venezuela in 2020, according to Click2Houston. The family initially entered with tourist visas before applying for asylum and later settling in Houston in 2023.
After leaving detention, Morales thanked members of his churches and friends who helped raise the money for his bond, according to Spectrum magazine. He described being reunited with his family and congregation as an answer to prayer and said the experience deepened his dependence on God.
“So now, with God's help, all that remains is to fight for our asylum application in court,” he was quoted as saying.
