Max Villatoro, a Mennonite pastor in Iowa City, was deported by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on March 20.

Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) sent out an email announcement that his wife, Gloria, received a call from him that he landed at the airport in San Pedro, Honduras.

Villatoro is pastor of Iglesia Menonita Torre Fuerte (Strong Tower).

That same day, Central Plains Mennonite Conference launched a fund-raising campaign to raise funds for Max’s legal fees and provide a strong foundation for the family with the separation of their father.

On March 3, ICE arrived without warning at Villatoro’s home a 6:30 a.m. They took him before he had a chance to say goodbye to his wife, Gloria, and his children.

Since his detention, many individuals have advocated for Villatoro not to be deported through social media campaigns, marches, calls to ICE, letters to Obama, prayer and more.

More than 42,000 signatures have been collected seeking Villatoro’s release from detention. More than 25,000 people signed a MoveOn.org petition to ICE demanding that he be immediately returned to his family and congregation.

According to a March 16 MCC action alert, Villatoro has convictions related to trying to obtain a driver’s license with a false ID and a DUI in the late 1990s.

“He has since turned his life around, pastoring a church and helping others in his community who are struggling with addictions to drugs and alcohol,” says the alert.

“Pastor Max is exactly the kind of individual that President Obama said ICE should not be deporting,” says a March 20 statement from Mennonite Church USA. “As a pastor, community leader and father of U.S. citizen children, Max clearly presents no public safety or security threat. He should be at home with his wife, Gloria, his four kids— Anthony, Edna, Angela and Aileen, and his congregation at the First Mennonite Church in Iowa City.”

“Max’s case has received national attention because it is a clear test for the Obama Administration,” wrote David Boshart, executive conference minister Central Plains Mennonite Conference, in an email on March 19.

Photo above: Tammy Alexander, legislative associate with the MCC Washington Office, holds at an immigration rally at the national capital building. Photo by Jesse Epp-Fransen.