Houston pastor detained by ICE at airport while traveling with wife
Aug 12, 2026·Location: Houston, TX
Country of origin: Venezuela

Luis Alfredo Morales Pérez, 50, a Venezuelan pastor who leads four Seventh-day Adventist congregations in the Houston area, primarily in Pasadena, and has served the Texas Conference since January 2023, was detained by ICE agents on Aug. 6, 2026, at George Bush Intercontinental Airport as he and his wife, Karina, prepared to fly to New York to see their daughters. His wife said two agents approached the couple by name and arrested him before they passed through security. Morales entered the U.S. in 2020 and was granted Temporary Protected Status in December 2023, which ICE says was terminated in November 2025 after the Supreme Court allowed DHS's termination of TPS for Venezuelans to take effect; his wife and attorney say he has a pending asylum case and no criminal record. The Texas Conference of Seventh-day Adventists said he holds valid employment authorization and described his 'commitment to our mission and the families he serves' as 'unwavering,' asking congregants to pray for him and his family. He is being held at an ICE detention center in Livingston, Texas, where he has been able to speak with his family by phone while his legal team gathers documents to request bond; his case is reported to be at least the third involving a Texas pastor detained at an airport in the past month.
Timeline
Sources
- Houston-area pastor detained by ICE at Bush Airport while traveling with wife
click2houston.com·Aug 18, 2026·archived copy
- atoday.org
- Adventist Pastor Detained by ICE at Houston Airport
- ICE detains Pastor Luis Morales Pérez at Houston airport despite work authorization
azrscorp.com·Aug 13, 2026·archived copy
- Houston pastor who led Seventh-day Adventist churches detained by ICE at George Bush Intercontinental Airport
Yahoo News·Aug 13, 2026·archived copy
- ICE detiene a pastor venezolano en aeropuerto de Houston
telemundohouston.com·Aug 12, 2026·archived copy
- Del aeropuerto a un centro de detención: el caso de un pastor venezolano arrestado por ICE en Houston
lapatilla.com·Aug 12, 2026·archived copy
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