Petitions Support Pastor Slated for Deportation

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Supporters of a longtime Iowa City pastor and father of four facing deportation to Honduras plan to deliver more than 25,000 petitions to immigration officials in Omaha and call for his release.

Family, friends and advocates of 41-year-old Max Villatoro stopped in Des Moines Tuesday as they transported six boxes filled with the signatures of at least 25,518 people to the Omaha Immigration and Customs Enforcement office. Villatoro was arrested last week as part of a five-day nationwide operation targeting convicted criminals living in the country illegally, yielding the arrest of 2,059 people.

ICE officials say a 17-year-old drunken driving conviction classifies Villatoro as an enforcement priority.

The petitions seek to block Villatoro's deportation that would separate him from his family, claiming he has turned his life around.