WINDHAM — In the days since Rufino Beca was detained by immigration agents, congregants have still been flocking to his house.

His Windham home is like an extension of the church community he has built, said his daughter, 25-year-old Eliana Beca. Members look to Rufino Beca for advice and rely on his open-door policy. He regularly cares for children who need a father figure and is always willing to help others, she said.

Rufino Beca, a 59-year-old man who moved to the United States from Angola in 2017, was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Portland on Monday. Moments before his apprehension, he was helping another member of his congregation who is being held in immigration custody in Arizona.

He remains at the Strafford County Jail in Dover, New Hampshire, jail staff confirmed Thursday.

The Department of Homeland Security confirmed that Rufino Beca was apprehended by ICE on Monday. A spokesperson for the federal agency said in a statement Tuesday that he came to the country in March 2017 under a six-month tourist visa and is accused of illegally staying since then.

Eliana Beca said her father is an asylum seeker who came to the United States in 2017 and has no criminal record — “not even a speeding ticket.” Since he moved to Maine, he’s formed and led two congregations, both called the Assembly of God Resurrected Christ, in Biddeford and Portland.

“We came here, we did not stay seated, we did not cross our arms,” Eliana Beca said. “My parents have been working the moment that they arrived here. The moment that they were granted a work permit, they started working. They started trying to be useful in the community.”

Since the pastor was detained, congregants have been meeting and praying online. Many members of the church are immigrants who are living in fear, Eliana Beca said.

“Him being detained in these circumstances is just leaving people without a shield,” Eliana Beca said. “This is a person that motivates people, that prays for people. … Now you take that person away from the people that need him.”

APPREHENSION IN PORTLAND

Eliana Beca said ICE took her father into custody shortly after he collected money from the RepubliCash on St. John Street.

One of his congregant’s sisters sent funds there and asked Rufino Beca to put them into her brother’s commissary account. That congregant was detained by immigration agents in January and is being held at a detention facility in Arizona, Eliana Beca said.

Her father had taken on an important role in helping with the congregant’s immigration case, like contacting his family, raising money, organizing paperwork and working with his attorneys.

“Now they’re both in the same situation,” Eliana Beca said. “The sole person that was really fighting for him outside is no longer able to do that right now.”

Richard Vokey, 27, of Portland, said he was walking his dog on St. John Street around 11:40 a.m. Monday when he saw two black SUVs pull into a parking lot. Four or five men wearing tactical gear stepped out, he said, and started handcuffing another man, later identified as Rufino Beca.

Vokey, who works as a carpenter, said he participated in trainings with co-workers during ICE’s enhanced enforcement operation in January where he learned to record suspected immigration agents and report sightings to an ICE activity hotline organized by community advocates. He said he had those trainings in mind when he pulled out his phone to record.

He said the interaction seemed peaceful: Rufino Beca didn’t appear to struggle when he was put into the back of one of the SUVs. As the agents drove away, Vokey recorded their license plates and called the ICE hotline.

Vokey said watching the apprehension was jarring.

“It was a hard reminder that (immigration agents) are still very much present, and it’s still happening,” Vokey said. “No matter what politicians are saying, they’re still here.”

CHURCH COMMUNITY IN SHOCK

One of Rufino Beca’s friends, 58-year-old Andre of Biddeford, described Beca as a positive mentor who helps families in the community. Even people who attend other churches turn to him for support and guidance, Andre said.

Andre and Eliana Beca both said members of the church community were shocked and distraught when they heard of the pastor’s detention. (Andre, who is also an immigrant, asked to be referred to by his first name only, out of fear of reprisal.)

Lude Zombo, 20, of Biddeford, grew up attending Rufino Beca’s sermons and said he looked to the pastor as a role model, describing him as a close family friend.

When Zombo, a photographer and videographer, first became interested in those art forms, Rufino Beca lent him the church’s camera — a kindness that helped launch Zombo’s career.

“Those pictures are very special to me now, because I really realized that you can’t take those moments for granted,” Zombo said, adding that he feels heartbroken knowing his role model is being held in jail.

Eliana Beca described her father as a pillar of strength in her home and their community. In phone calls from jail, she said, he’s been encouraging his family to pray and remember God is with them.

She and her family have been trying to keep up with the tasks and bills that he handled, but it has been overwhelming. She’s also been managing his cellphone, where church members regularly contact him.

“Even though they know he is not here, people call his phone late hours,” she said. “Members are just crying. It has been insane.”

Eliana Beca said immigrants like her father, who are selfless and contribute to the community, don’t deserve to be treated like criminals.

“We came here for safety reasons, and the place that we came to seek safety is putting us in danger,” she said.