The Archdiocese of Miami denounced the “unjust” immigration arrest of priest Gustavo Santos, a 32-year-old Venezuelan with an R-1 religious visa, after returning from a flight from abroad.
U.S. authorities on Tuesday “suddenly and unjustly” denied Santos entry while he was returning from London despite having a visa valid until November, the archdiocese, which represents an area with 1.3 million Catholics, said in a statement.
After “swift intervention” by Archbishop Thomas Wenski and advice from Catholic Legal Services, the detention was discussed before a judge and Customs and Border Protection(CBP) reconsidered the case.
“Father Santos has since been released and allowed to re-enter the country. We are grateful for the prompt resolution and welcome Father Santos back to his ministry,” concluded the three-paragraph statement from the Archdiocese.
The religious body did not give further details about the immigration arrest of the priest, whom it considered to be a priest of “good reputation”.
Santos, born on May 20, 1993 in Valencia, Venezuela, completed two years of ordination as a priest last May and is currently serving at St. John Neumann Catholic Church in Miami.
In a video shared by St. Vincent de Paul Seminary in 2021, Santos explained that he left Venezuela because of the violence.
“I went to university and then they sent me here to the United States because of some kidnapping problems, you know the situation in the country. When I arrived here in the United States I totally lost my faith,” he said, according to EFE.
For more information, visit QuéOnnda.com.
