Illustration: Gloria Villatoro and her four children stand outside Iglesia Torre Fuerte. Friends of Pastor Max, a group of Central Plains Mennonite Conference members, continues to advocate for Pastor Max to be returned to his family. Illustration by Rachel Schrock. 

Members of Central Plains Mennonite Conference and Mennonite Central Committee Washington are continuing their efforts to reunite Max Villatoro with his family. Villatoro, a Mennonite pastor from Iowa City, was deported to Honduras by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on March 20, 2015.

His deportation followed his detention by ICE on March 3 and weeks of advocacy efforts, including more than 47,000 signatures collected on three petitions seeking Villatoro’s release from detention. One of the petitions, hosted on MoveOn.org, was signed by more than 22,000 people.

Villatoro and his wife, Gloria, co-pastor of Iglesia Menonita Torre Fuerte (Strong Tower). Gloria and their four children remain in the United States.

The Friends of Pastor Max Steering Committee, consisting of individuals from Central Plains congregations, continues to meet monthly to discuss next steps.

“We continue to believe that prayer is central to reuniting Max with his family and community in Iowa City,” said Edie Nebel, a member of Washington (Iowa) Mennonite Church and chair of the steering committee.

Thanks to donations from individuals across the country, Villatoro’s children and Central Plains conference minister Tim Detweiler were able to visit Villatoro in August. Gloria visited in December.

“In my conversations with Max, he talked a lot about the importance of family,” wrote Detweiler in a

report following the trip. “Family is the place where values are taught: values like respect, responsibility, work and play.  Family is the place where love and caring for each other is learned and experienced.  For someone like Max who values the importance of family, being torn away from his wife and children is very difficult and painful.”

Currently the steering committee is inviting individuals to call Department of Homeland Security Secretary, Jeh Johnson’s, office before March 20th, the one year anniversary of Villatoro’s deportation. They are also soliciting signatures for a new petition urging the government to “bring Pastor Max home.”

To learn more about the Villatoro family and efforts to help Pastor Max, visit http://www.friendsofpastormax.org/.