U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have detained a Congolese pastor who started a small church in Maine after allegedly overstaying his tourist visa by several years. He is currently in custody at a correctional facility in New Hampshire.
Michel Tshimankinda entered the United States in March 2016 on a tourist visa and failed to leave after the authorized period expired, an ICE spokesperson told WMTW. He was taken into custody last Wednesday as part of what the agency described as “targeted enforcement operations.”
The pastor, born the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is being held at the Strafford County Department of Corrections in Dover, New Hampshire, according to ICE’s Online Detainee Locator System.
A fundraiser launched to help Tshimankinda’s family cover legal fees and basic expenses had collected more than $26,000 by Monday morning. Jobel Tshimankinda, the pastor’s daughter, said that the family is in “shock”
“We know that by the grace of God, he will come back to us,” she wrote in the fundraiser. “Our dad has always worked hard to provide for us, never asking for anything in return. He has been a loving husband, a devoted father, and an important part of our community. Now, without him here, our family might be facing emotional and financial hardship. Bills, rent, and legal fees will begin to pile up, so we are looking at the future of this case.”
Tshimankinda had become a well-known figure among Christian congregations in South Portland and Gorham, where he and his family had been attending Life Church for several years. Pastor Tom Pequinot of Life Church said Tshimankinda had applied for asylum for himself, his wife and their four children.
“He’s just a great man. Great man of God,” Pequinot told WMTW. “He and his wife were very honest, very authentic, very open and shared a lot of their story to everybody.”
Tshimankinda later founded his own congregation, Restoration Church, renting worship space at the Promised Land World Outreach Center in South Portland. Paul Roberts, a church leader who worked closely with him, said Tshimankinda started the church in March and had been preaching there regularly since then.
The arrest came as a shock to the community, especially to those close to him. Pequinot recalled receiving a phone call from Tshimankinda after he was taken into custody.
Tshimankinda had called Pequinot also earlier that day to say he was being followed by ICE agents after leaving work.
In his absence, Restoration Church has continued to hold services as scheduled.
Roberts said the arrest had unsettled members of the congregation, many of whom are immigrants themselves. He expressed disappointment in how the case was handled.
“He loves the Lord with all his heart. Man, this guy I don’t think will even hurt a fly,” he was quoted as saying. “I understand the law, and I don’t blame the ICE, because ICE is doing their job. They just do what the government tells them.”
Roberts added that instead of being detained, Tshimankinda could have been given a court date to resolve his immigration status.
In a statement, ICE spokesperson James Covington said the arrest was in line with agency policy under the Trump administration and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
“Unlike the previous administration, President Trump and Secretary Noem will not turn a blind eye to violations of U.S. immigration laws. They remain dedicated to prioritizing safety and protecting the integrity of our nation’s immigration laws,” Covington said.
Earlier this year, Evangelical immigration advocates warned that President Donald Trump’s push for mass deportations would have a “direct impact” on churches in the U.S., especially immigrant-heavy congregations.
Earlier this month, a Honduran pastor living on Maryland’s Eastern Shore was released after three weeks in ICE detention. Daniel Fuentes Espinal, who led Iglesia del Nazareno Jesus Te Ama, was arrested on July 21 while returning to a construction site, with authorities alleging he had overstayed a six-month visa for 24 years.
During his detention, Fuentes Espinal said he ministered to fellow detainees and witnessed several conversions to Christianity before returning home.
A pastor detained by immigration authorities in May, Maurilio Ambrocio, who leads a 50-member church in Florida, was deported in June to Guatemala more than two decades after entering the U.S. illegally. He was one of 100 Guatemalan immigrants deported from New Orleans through a charter flight.
Concerns have been raised over the status of 11 Iranian Christian refugees deported to Panama earlier this year and given a six-month extension to find refuge in a third country.
