Lincoln Park Dad In US For 30 Years Deported On MLK Day: Report

LINCOLN PARK, MI — A Lincoln Park husband and father of two who lived in America for three decades has been deported to Mexico as part of the Trump administration's crackdown on illegal immigration, a local media outlet reported. Jorge Garcia, 39, hugged his family in a tearful goodbye at Detroit Metro Airport in Romulus, Michigan, on Monday, which is also Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the Detroit Free Press reported. Garcia then boarded a plane to Mexico.

Supporters held signs that read: "Stop Separating Families," the newspaper said. They said Garcia, a landscaper, paid taxes and didn't have a criminal record.

Garcia was the child of immigrants and was brought to the U.S. illegally at just 10 years old, the news outlet said. On Monday, he was accompanied by federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.

Garcia is not eligible for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program because of his age, the news outlet said. He had sought to stay, arguing that new DACA legislation could bump up the age limit for immigrants. ICE refused though, and said he had to leave the country by Jan. 15.

After years living in the U.S. for 30 years, a 39-year-old immigrant in metro Detroit was deported this morning to Mexico. Escorted by ICE agents, he said bye to wife and 2 kids before boarding. He was brought to US from Mexico when he was 10-yrs-old, too old to qualify for DACA: pic.twitter.com/KFPeweaMbG
— Niraj Warikoo (@nwarikoo) January 15, 2018

"Stop Separating Families," read signs from supporters of Jorge as he prepares to board flight for Mexico in a deportation by ICE, part of crackdown by Trump administration: pic.twitter.com/Vl47minwpd
— Niraj Warikoo (@nwarikoo) January 15, 2018

On MLK Day, ICE deports Jorge Garcia, a married father of 2 kids in metro Detroit who has lived in the U.S. for 30 years. He was brought to the U.S. when he was 10-years-old by undocumented family members. He's too old to qualify for DACA.https://t.co/de9vpKefmb
— Niraj Warikoo (@nwarikoo) January 15, 2018

Click here for the full article from the Detroit Free Press.

Photo credit: Bill Pugliano/Getty Images