Presidential candidates from both major U.S. political parties this summer heralded Iowa Mennonites they say have been victimized by unjust federal laws.

Before one of the largest Iowa crowds drawn by any candidate this year, Republican Ted Cruz featured the story of Betty Görtz-Odgaard and Richard Odgaard at an Aug. 21 rally of 2,300 Christian conservatives focused on exercising religious freedom in the face of government persecution.

The couple, who have attended Des Moines Mennonite Church, declined to host a gay wedding at their business in 2013 and faced a lawsuit from the Iowa Civil Rights Commission. The Od­gaards ultimately walked away from their business, the Görtz Haus Gallery in Grimes, this year after experiencing boycotts and receiving hurtful correspondence. Cruz has mentioned them several times in his campaign.

“You have endured pain; you have endured the attacks; you have endured hatred,” Cruz said to Betty Görtz-Odgaard after she shared her story at the event, according to the New York Times.

Earlier in the summer, an advocacy group supporting a deported Iowa City pastor launched an initiative to confront candidates from both parties about immigration reform and the cause of Max Villatoro, pastor of Iglesia Menonita Torre Fuerte (First Mennonite Church).

Immigration officials classified Villatoro as “an enforcement priority” due to a 1998 drunken driving conviction and trying to obtain a driver’s license illegally in 1999. His supporters say the pastor and community leader presented no security threat and should not have been a deportation priority.

Central Plains Mennonite Conference of Mennonite Church USA has been supporting the Villatoro family since he was detained and deported in March. “Friends of Pastor Max” director Edie Nebel said members of the group have visited with Dem­ocrats Hillary Clinton and Martin O’Malley and Republicans Jeb Bush, Rick Santorum and Lindsey Graham.

“We have specifically highlighted Max’s case and asked why prosecutorial discretion was not used in his case, since he did not meet the criteria,” Nebel said. “We are stating that we miss him and want him returned to his family and community, and are asking about their plans for immigration reform.”

The Des Moines Register reported Clinton expressed familiarity with Villatoro’s case during a July 7 campaign stop in Iowa City.

“He was, from all accounts, everything I’ve read and heard, a contributing member of the community,” Clinton said. “And for the life of me, I don’t understand why he was deported.

“And I would think we would have to take a hard look at cases like that and exercise more discretion.”

Planning and luck

Clinton’s remarks were in response to a question from Aliese Gingerich, a member of First Mennonite Church in Iowa City, who got to know Villatoro because Villatoro’s church shares the same building and Gingerich has worked on some advocacy projects with him.

Gingerich — a member of Friends of Pastor Max — said her opportunity to approach Clinton was a mixture of patience, planning and luck. After waiting three hours to get in, she noticed the Iowa City mayor, who she was neighbors with growing up.

“So I went to talk to him, and then Hillary came up, so I sat down and happened to be in the front row, and I tried to make myself really big when they asked for the last question,” she said.

Clinton wasn’t the first to be approached by Gingerich. On June 17, she discussed Villatoro’s case one-on-one with Republican candidate Jeb Bush in Washington, Iowa, and she has also spoken with Graham. The Sioux City Journal reported Bush agreed with Gingerich that “separating families is not an American value.”

Bush described a path to legal status that would include paying a fine, learning English, getting a work permit and not taking government assistance — conditions Villatoro’s supporters say he met.

“In Iowa, we have the incredible privilege of having candidates literally camp out in our backyards,” Gingerich said. “. . . I must also recognize other privileges that I enjoy, such as access to a car, money for gas, Internet at my house, my age (22), my skin color, my linguistic background.

“Nonetheless, I hope that these factors don’t serve to entirely discourage others from pursuing actions similar to mine.”

Nebel and her cohorts anticipate more opportunities.

“Although the further along the process gets, we understand that the attendance may be larger and it might be more difficult to interact like we have been able to already,” she said.