Resident detained by ICE while his wife was in hospital with their newborn
By Jim Keithley
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SACO, Maine (WMTW) — A church community in southern Maine is rallying behind a man who was recently detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) five days after his wife had given birth to their fourth child.
The Rev. Scott Cousineau, senior minister of the First Parish Congregational Church in Saco, said one of his parishioners, Makengo Nzeza, was apprehended by ICE agents just hours after they had a conversation on Friday.
“I asked him, I said: ‘Are you afraid?’ And he said: ‘Yes,'” Cousineau said of his conversation with Nzeza. “He said: ‘Even though we have all of our paperwork, even though we have everything in place, I’m still very afraid.'”
Cousineau said Nzeza is an asylum seeker from Angola who has been living in Saco for eight years. According to Cousineau, Nzeza had all the legal documents to be living in the United States. Cousineau referred to Nzeza as a model citizen.
“He’s not the ‘worst of the worst.’ He’s the best of the best,” Cousineau said.
Cousineau said Nzeza’s wife gave birth to a girl on Jan. 18. Nzeza’s wife was in the hospital recovering from an emergency C-section when he was detained, according to Cousineau.
“He had been out running errands, to get some supplies for his family, and he got picked up not far from his home,” Cousineau said.
Cousineau said Nzeza and his wife have three other children — ages 11, 6 and 3 — and that the couple are active members of the church.
The community has set up a GoFundMe page to help cover legal fees and essentials for Nzeza’s family.
Cousineau said Nzeza is being held in the Boston area and has an immigration lawyer, who will be setting up a date for a bond hearing before a judge.
“My hope is that he’ll be back with his family by the end of the week,” Cousineau said.
In the meantime, Cousineau said the church community will pray that a judge rules in Nzeza’s favor so he can be reunited with his family.
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