New York diocese calls for ICE’s release of Episcopalian from Peru detained after asylum hearing

[Episcopal News Service] On the same day the daughter of an Episcopal priest in the Diocese of New York was arrested and detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcements agents outside Federal Plaza in Manhattan, a parishioner of St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church in White Plains was also arrested in the same place and is now being detained in a facility in Louisiana.

Elizabeth “Ketty” De Los Santos, a 59-year-old grandmother from Peru, went to a routine asylum hearing on July 31 at Federal Plaza. She was arrested by ICE agents after leaving the hearing.

“[De Los Santos] was following the rules. Showing up to continue her case,” the Rev. Este Gardner, rector of St. Bartholomew’s, wrote on the parish’s Facebook page on Aug. 4. “She is now in a detention center in Louisiana. They sleep on the floor. The conditions are terrible. There is constant pressure to sign self-deportation papers, which she is sorely tempted to do.”

De Los Santos fled to the United States from Peru after her bakery business was extorted, and the extortioners threatened to kill her when she couldn’t pay them enough money, according to the Facebook post.

Asylum-seekers, like De Los Santos, and refugees leave their homes for a variety of reasons, including but not limited to war, violence and persecution over race, ethnicity, religion or sexual orientation. Seeking asylum in the United States is legal. As of Dec. 31, 2024, 1,446,908 people have open asylum claims in the United States, according to the latest data from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. The federal government’s backlog in U.S. immigration courts is at 3,830,855 pending cases as of June 30, according to the latest numbers from the Executive Office for Immigration Review.

Although the term migrants and asylum-seekers are often used interchangeably, not all migrants are asylum-seekers. The latter are people seeking protection from persecution or violence, but who haven’t yet been legally recognized as refugees. They are authorized to work once granted asylum.

The Diocese of New York held a prayer vigil on Aug. 2 outside Federal Plaza calling for the immediate release of De Los Santos and Yeonsoo Go, a visa holder from South Korea and an incoming sophomore at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. Go was released from ICE custody on Aug. 4.

“We showed up … for our sisters and for thousands we don’t know. And we will keep praying, keep coming back, keep demanding justice for them all,” the Rev. Stephanie Spellers, canon-in-residence at St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church in Midtown Manhattan, wrote in an Aug. 2 Facebook post.

Mary Rothwell Davis, an immigration attorney for the Diocese of New York, said in a live Aug. 4 interview on CNN that De Los Santos and Go were on the same bus heading to a nearby airport to fly to Louisiana for detainment at ICE’s Richwood Correction Center in Monroe. The bus drove past the vigil en route to the airport.

“They saw themselves being supported but also felt themselves being torn away from their community,” Davis said.

As of Aug. 1, 56,579 immigrants are in ICE custody, according to the latest available data compiled by NBC News.

Since President Donald Trump took office on Jan. 20, ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents have been arresting immigrants at courthouses, workplaces and other public and private places nationwide. In the New York City area, more than half of the detained immigrants, like De Los Santos and Go, have been arrested after going to federal immigration offices or immigration courts for routine and mandated appearances, according to data shared by the New York Times. Between January and late June, at least 2,365 immigrants in metro New York have been arrested.

The Diocese of New York said in an Aug. 4 Facebook post that it “will continue to fight for Ketty’s release, along with so many others who remain voiceless.”

Spellers echoed a similar sentiment.

“Americans, please understand: Due process means nothing here. Justice, truth the Constitution – they mean nothing here. What’s operative is a blank check and free rein for ICE to illegally terrorize and disappear the most vulnerable among us,” Spellers said in her Facebook post. “If you love America, if you follow Jesus, please stand against this evil. Now.”

To help Episcopalians track updates on U.S. immigration policy and available resources, The Episcopal Church’s Office of Government Relations and Episcopal Migration Ministries host 30-minute virtual updates Tuesdays from 1-1:30 p.m. Eastern. Episcopal Migration Ministries also hosts an Episcopal Migration Response Network that typically meets every fourth Wednesday of the month via Zoom to discuss and share Christian formation and worship resources, advocacy actions and more.

The Episcopal Church also maintains an immigration action toolkit and other resources available online.

 -Shireen Korkzan is a reporter and assistant editor for Episcopal News Service. She can be reached at skorkzan@episcopalchurch.org.