Exclusive: ICE Detains Dozens of Faith Leaders Under Trump’s Crackdown

U.S.NewsPoliticsAI PoliticsTechFact CheckSportsGlobalIran WarRussia-UkraineMiddle EastChina And AsiaLive BlogBetter PlanetAll World NewsLifestyleFamily & ParentingEntertainmentTravelPetsAutomotiveRelationshipsScienceHealthPersonal FinanceBetter WorkplacesReaders ChoiceOpinionMy TurnAll OpinionRankingsHealthCorporate ResponsibilityFinanceProductsEducationWorkAll RankingsWatchThe 1600The Royal ReportUnconventionalFrom The PaddockNewsmakersSocialFacebookInstagramYouTubeRedditTikTokTwitter/XExtraNewslettersDare to DreamEventsEssaysPodcastsVantageInsightsMagazineCEO CircleAnnouncementsLeadershipDev Pragad “They pulled me out of the car, slammed me on the icy floor, and cuffed me,” Pastor Steven Tendo told Newsweek. “It was something that I would never forget the rest of my life.” Tendo, a Pentecostal pastor from Uganda who sought asylum in the United States, said he was leaving work in Vermont on February 4, 2026, when ICE officers surrounded his car. He was detained for 16 days before a federal judge ordered his release, ruling that ICE "contravened its own regulations … by failing to provide a meaningful, individualized basis for his re-detention" in time. Tendo was also detained by ICE in 2023. "Once you are detained by ICE, you cease to be a human being," he said. "You become subhuman; you become an object. You become a file that is added onto their numbers." Tendo is among at least 65 pastors, priests, imams, chaplains, rabbis, monks, deacons, and other religious figures detained by U.S. immigration authorities since January 2025—the month President Donald Trump returned to the White House and swiftly expanded immigration enforcement—according to Newsweek analysis of court filings, news reports, and public records. At least 30 have been released from immigration custody, 18 were deported, and 14 remain detained. Another, Fouad Saeed Abdulkadir, a 46-year-old green card holding imam from Eritrea, died in custody in Philipsburg, Pennsylvania, in December 2025. Newsweek requested immigration and criminal histories for all 65 people identified. The Trump administration provided information on 42, identifying 14 as having prior criminal arrests or convictions. Their immigration histories were also varied. The cases include people with removal orders, alleged visa overstays, asylum seekers, lawful permanent residents, and people whose cases involved work authorization, Temporary Protected Status, withholding of removal, Convention Against Torture protections, advance parole, or orders of supervision. They were often detained during routine immigration appointments, traffic stops, or other encounters with law enforcement. Newsweek found cases of 51 Christians leaders—from Catholic, Anglican, Baptist, Presbyterian and Seventh-day Adventists denominations—10 Muslims, three Buddhists, and two Jews detained by ICE since January 2025. Rabbi Sarah Bassin of nonprofit HIAS, which supports Jewish refugees and immigrants, told Newsweek, "It is not that faith leaders are more worthy of our attention and our outrage at their detention. But their detention should be clarifying for those who may doubt the profound moral breach of the Trump administration's immigration policies." Muslim Group Calls Out Congress Muslim civil rights group the Council on American-Islamic Relations wants a congressional investigation into the detentions. The group’s national deputy director, Edward Ahmed Mitchell, told Newsweek the U.S. “should never target immigrants for deportation based on their race, faith or their advocacy for human rights.” "We are deeply concerned by the news that at least ten imams have been detained by ICE over the past year and a half," Mitchell said. "Congress must investigate any discriminatory motive behind these detentions, and work to pass the NO Ban Act to ensure racial and religious discrimination play no role in our immigration policy." DHS Responds A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) told Newsweek, "What makes someone a target for immigration enforcement is whether or not they are illegally in the U.S.— full stop." The Trump administration has clamped down on illegal crossings at the southern border and launched a widespread mass deportation operation across the country, while tightening legal immigration. The administration has also moved to ease visa requirements for migrant religious workers in the U.S. on an R-1 visa In January 2026, USCIS scrapped a requirement that those who reach the R-1 visa's five-year maximum must remain outside the U.S. for a full year before seeking R-1 status again, although they must still leave the country. ICE Detains Priests, Pastors, Rabbis and Imams That change came into force after the Archbishop of Miami, Thomas Wenski, intervened after the detention of a Catholic priest. Catholic priest Gustavo Andres Santos Higuera, a Venezuelan national, was detained after arriving at Miami International Airport on August 19, 2025. In response, Archbishop Wenski petitioned the courts for his release, saying the priest held a valid R-1 religious-worker visa. The filing alleged that Higuera was being denied access to counsel and asked a federal court to prevent immigration authorities from transferring him out of Florida while his detention was challenged. Rabbi Yehonatan Ovadia, a 35-year-old father and political activist, was detained by immigration authorities in New York City on August 28, 2026, and faces the threat of deportation. His attorney, Eric Lee, told Newsweek USCIS denied Ovadia’s application to extend his nonimmigrant status on discretionary grounds, citing a 2023 arrest at an anti-Zionist protest by Jewish residents in Rockland County. Lee said another protester removed an Israeli flag from a Ramapo town building and that Ovadia opposed the act. Lee said the State Department renewed Ovadia’s R-1 religious-worker visa in 2024 after he disclosed the incident during an interview at the U.S. Embassy in Canada, and accused the administration of conflating anti-Zionism with antisemitism. "The First Amendment protects both Mr. Ovadia's right to criticize a foreign government and his right to practice and express his deeply-held religious belief that the Zionist project is incompatible with Judaism. We demand his immediate release," Lee told Newsweek, adding that Ovadia had been separated from his family and held over the Jewish High Holidays. DHS told Newsweek Ovadia's criminal history included criminal mischief, petit larceny and conspiracy as hate crimes, along with disorderly conduct. "After previously entering the country lawfully on a temporary basis and being removed, Ovadia lawfully entered the country again on April 21, 2024, with permission to stay until November 2, 2025," a DHS spokesperson said. "In violation of our nation’s laws, he overstayed his welcome and refused to depart." Jelili Qudus, a Nigerian described in court filings as a Muslim faith leader who conducts weekly prayers, visits the sick, and distributes food to people in need, was re-detained when he appeared for his annual ICE check-in in Chicago on October 23, 2025. He had spent approximately 17 years complying with an Order of Supervision before being returned to custody, per court filings. He was subsequently held at Camp East Montana in El Paso, Texas, according to court documents. On January 20, a federal judge granted Qudus' habeas petition and ordered his immediate release under supervision, finding that immigration authorities violated his due process rights when they re-detained him without providing the required notice or opportunity to respond. Qudus' detention at a scheduled immigration meeting is a familiar story. Thuc Dy Dang Nguyen, a church deacon and Sunday-school teacher in Lawrenceville, Georgia, was re-detained by ICE on October 16, 2025, after being called to the agency's Atlanta field office for a case review. The Vietnamese national had spent about 12 years under an ICE Order of Supervision and had regularly complied with check-ins, according to court filings. His attorneys alleged that ICE revoked his release without explaining why or providing an opportunity to respond before transferring him to Stewart Detention Center in Georgia. Kuy Nam Ko, a Presbyterian pastor from South Korea, was detained at a USCIS interview in California on February 27, 2026, according to court records. He was later released with GPS monitoring while his immigration case continued, according to court filings. Others were detained going about their daily lives. Juan Antonio Maya Torres, a Seventh-day Adventist evangelism director and deacon, was arrested during a traffic stop while driving to work in Maryland. A federal court subsequently ordered his release and a bond hearing. Adolfo Gutiérrez, a Christian volunteer pastor in Texas, was detained while taking his daughter to school. He was later deported.10Loading video…By Billal RahmanImmigration Reporter

0ShareNewsweek is a Trust Project memberSee more of our trusted coverage when you search.Prefer Newsweek on Googleto see more of our trusted coverage when you search.“They pulled me out of the car, slammed me on the icy floor, and cuffed me,” Pastor Steven Tendo told Newsweek. “It was something that I would never forget the rest of my life.”

Tendo, a Pentecostal pastor from Uganda who sought asylum in the United States, said he was leaving work in Vermont on February 4, 2026, when ICE officers surrounded his car.

He was detained for 16 days before a federal judge ordered his release, ruling that ICE “contravened its own regulations … by failing to provide a meaningful, individualized basis for his re-detention” in time. Tendo was also detained by ICE in 2023.

“Once you are detained by ICE, you cease to be a human being,” he said. “You become subhuman; you become an object. You become a file that is added onto their numbers.”

Tendo is among at least 65 pastors, priests, imams, chaplains, rabbis, monks, deacons, and other religious figures detained by U.S. immigration authorities since January 2025—the month President Donald Trump returned to the White House and swiftly expanded immigration enforcement—according to Newsweek analysis of court filings, news reports, and public records.

At least 30 have been released from immigration custody, 18 were deported, and 14 remain detained. Another, Fouad Saeed Abdulkadir, a 46-year-old green card holding imam from Eritrea, died in custody in Philipsburg, Pennsylvania, in December 2025.

Newsweek requested immigration and criminal histories for all 65 people identified. The Trump administration provided information on 42, identifying 14 as having prior criminal arrests or convictions.

Their immigration histories were also varied. The cases include people with removal orders, alleged visa overstays, asylum seekers, lawful permanent residents, and people whose cases involved work authorization, Temporary Protected Status, withholding of removal, Convention Against Torture protections, advance parole, or orders of supervision.

They were often detained during routine immigration appointments, traffic stops, or other encounters with law enforcement.

Newsweek found cases of 51 Christians leaders—from Catholic, Anglican, Baptist, Presbyterian and Seventh-day Adventists denominations—10 Muslims, three Buddhists, and two Jews detained by ICE since January 2025.

Rabbi Sarah Bassin of nonprofit HIAS, which supports Jewish refugees and immigrants, told Newsweek, “It is not that faith leaders are more worthy of our attention and our outrage at their detention. But their detention should be clarifying for those who may doubt the profound moral breach of the Trump administration’s immigration policies.”

Muslim civil rights group the Council on American-Islamic Relations wants a congressional investigation into the detentions.

The group’s national deputy director, Edward Ahmed Mitchell, told Newsweek the U.S. “should never target immigrants for deportation based on their race, faith or their advocacy for human rights.”

“We are deeply concerned by the news that at least ten imams have been detained by ICE over the past year and a half,” Mitchell said. “Congress must investigate any discriminatory motive behind these detentions, and work to pass the NO Ban Act to ensure racial and religious discrimination play no role in our immigration policy.”

A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) told Newsweek, “What makes someone a target for immigration enforcement is whether or not they are illegally in the U.S.— full stop.”

The Trump administration has clamped down on illegal crossings at the southern border and launched a widespread mass deportation operation across the country, while tightening legal immigration.

The administration has also moved to ease visa requirements for migrant religious workers in the U.S. on an R-1 visa

In January 2026, USCIS scrapped a requirement that those who reach the R-1 visa’s five-year maximum must remain outside the U.S. for a full year before seeking R-1 status again, although they must still leave the country.

That change came into force after the Archbishop of Miami, Thomas Wenski, intervened after the detention of a Catholic priest.

Catholic priest Gustavo Andres Santos Higuera, a Venezuelan national, was detained after arriving at Miami International Airport on August 19, 2025. In response, Archbishop Wenski petitioned the courts for his release, saying the priest held a valid R-1 religious-worker visa.

The filing alleged that Higuera was being denied access to counsel and asked a federal court to prevent immigration authorities from transferring him out of Florida while his detention was challenged.

Rabbi Yehonatan Ovadia, a 35-year-old father and political activist, was detained by immigration authorities in New York City on August 28, 2026, and faces the threat of deportation.

His attorney, Eric Lee, told Newsweek USCIS denied Ovadia’s application to extend his nonimmigrant status on discretionary grounds, citing a 2023 arrest at an anti-Zionist protest by Jewish residents in Rockland County. Lee said another protester removed an Israeli flag from a Ramapo town building and that Ovadia opposed the act.

Lee said the State Department renewed Ovadia’s R-1 religious-worker visa in 2024 after he disclosed the incident during an interview at the U.S. Embassy in Canada, and accused the administration of conflating anti-Zionism with antisemitism.

“The First Amendment protects both Mr. Ovadia’s right to criticize a foreign government and his right to practice and express his deeply-held religious belief that the Zionist project is incompatible with Judaism. We demand his immediate release,” Lee told Newsweek, adding that Ovadia had been separated from his family and held over the Jewish High Holidays.

DHS told Newsweek Ovadia’s criminal history included criminal mischief, petit larceny and conspiracy as hate crimes, along with disorderly conduct.

“After previously entering the country lawfully on a temporary basis and being removed, Ovadia lawfully entered the country again on April 21, 2024, with permission to stay until November 2, 2025,” a DHS spokesperson said. “In violation of our nation’s laws, he overstayed his welcome and refused to depart.”

Jelili Qudus, a Nigerian described in court filings as a Muslim faith leader who conducts weekly prayers, visits the sick, and distributes food to people in need, was re-detained when he appeared for his annual ICE check-in in Chicago on October 23, 2025.

He had spent approximately 17 years complying with an Order of Supervision before being returned to custody, per court filings. He was subsequently held at Camp East Montana in El Paso, Texas, according to court documents.

On January 20, a federal judge granted Qudus’ habeas petition and ordered his immediate release under supervision, finding that immigration authorities violated his due process rights when they re-detained him without providing the required notice or opportunity to respond.

Qudus’ detention at a scheduled immigration meeting is a familiar story.

Thuc Dy Dang Nguyen, a church deacon and Sunday-school teacher in Lawrenceville, Georgia, was re-detained by ICE on October 16, 2025, after being called to the agency’s Atlanta field office for a case review.

The Vietnamese national had spent about 12 years under an ICE Order of Supervision and had regularly complied with check-ins, according to court filings. His attorneys alleged that ICE revoked his release without explaining why or providing an opportunity to respond before transferring him to Stewart Detention Center in Georgia.

Kuy Nam Ko, a Presbyterian pastor from South Korea, was detained at a USCIS interview in California on February 27, 2026, according to court records. He was later released with GPS monitoring while his immigration case continued, according to court filings.

Others were detained going about their daily lives.

Juan Antonio Maya Torres, a Seventh-day Adventist evangelism director and deacon, was arrested during a traffic stop while driving to work in Maryland. A federal court subsequently ordered his release and a bond hearing. Adolfo Gutiérrez, a Christian volunteer pastor in Texas, was detained while taking his daughter to school. He was later deported.