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 [1]

— Niraj Warikoo (@nwarikoo) January 15, 2018 [2]

In the year since President Donald Trump took office, it's become abundantly clear that his war on immigrants is blind, cruel, and without any sort of rhyme or reason. From the travel ban to the potential loss of DACA, it has begun to feel like each day in the era of Trump carries with it a new threat against the men, women, and children who have known no other home than the one they inhabit in America. And with that constant drumbeat of danger comes a whole new breed of heartbreak and loss, one that has very real consequences for American families. Their harrowing tales should be shouted from the mountaintops, shared widely in order to ensure that this new reality, born out of the hatred and abject racism of a few, is drowned out by the love and compassion of the many. And this is one of their stories, one that bears repeating, and it comes to us from Niraj Warikoo of Detroit Free Press [3].

On Jan. 15 — the day on which the US celebrates the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. — 39-year-old husband and father of two Jorge Garcia was deported from his home in Detroit, MI. Garcia had a stable job as a landscaper, paid his taxes, and had no criminal record. His wife and children are US citizens. Yet in November, he was ordered to leave the country, because despite having lived here for 29 years and being a law-abiding citizen, he was still brought to America at 10 years old by undocumented immigrants, and that left him a sitting duck for the Trump administration's unholy crackdown on American immigrants writ large.

Warikoo notes that on the morning of his deportation, "accompanied by ICE agents at Detroit Metro Airport, Garcia went through security as supporters around him held up signs that read, 'Stop Separating Families.'" There's a crucial reminder, here, about the real lives that are at stake as a result of the words of a president who shoots from the hip and speaks before he thinks. As Americans, we need to ensure that these individuals are not slipping through the cracks, that these stories of injustice are repeated louder than ever — and that we never, ever give up the fight for these families, like the Garcias, that so desperately need our help.

"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 [4]

— Niraj Warikoo (@nwarikoo) January 15, 2018 [5]

"How do you do this on Martin Luther King Jr. day?" said Erik Shelley, a Detroit activist who was at the airport to support Jorge Garcia. "It's another example of the tone-deafness of this administration. ... If Jorge isn't safe, no one is safe." https://t.co/NHxtC34RBw [6]

— Niraj Warikoo (@nwarikoo) January 15, 2018 [7]

For more information on how you can help, visit United We Dream [8].