Jorge Garcia was deported to Mexico on Monday after 30 years as a resident of Michigan, where lived with his wife and two children and worked as landscaper.
The 39-year-old landscaper from Lincoln Park, Michigan, was brought into the U.S. when he was 10 years old by an undocumented family member, USA Today noted, and while his wife and two children have citizenship, Jorge Garcia has been facing an order of removal since 2009.
He had been given extensions under the previous administration, but the Trump administration's crackdown on immigration meant Jorge Garcia was ordered in November to return to Mexico.
The family exhausted every avenue in an attempt to extend his time but Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials said that, because there was no Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) law without an age limit in place, Jorge Garcia was given until Monday to leave the country, CNN reported.
"We did not want to put up a Christmas tree because it was way too sad to even get to that point," said his wife of 15 years, Cindy Garcia, according to The Detroit News. "It was rough because we knew he was going to leave eventually. All we could do is make memories."
USA Today painted an emotional scene that unfolded at the airport as Jorge Garcia bid farewell to his family before boarding a plane to Mexico under the watchful gaze of two U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
A group of his supporters had gathered to see him off, holding signs that read, "Stop separating families" in a bid to convey the message that the Trump administration was unfairly targeting immigrants.
Authorities told Cindy Garcia that her husband would not be allowed to return, a move that has left the family "broken," said Mayra Valle, a family friend at the airport, per The Detroit News.
"No words to explain the pain. ... Jorge was a child. He didn't choose to go back. He never knew what was going to happen."
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