Max left the violence in Honduras and came to the United States in the early 1990s, alone and without proper documentation. His goal was to build a better life for himself.
Perhaps because he was young, inexperienced, alone, and desperate in a new country and in a new culture, one day he decided to drink too much alcohol before driving. That same day, almost 20 years ago, he was arrested by the police.
After that negative experience, Max decided to abandon his life of potential self-destruction. He found a stable job, got married, and had four children. He also petitioned the federal authorities to remain legally in the country and he completed ministerial studies.
Almost five years ago, Max began his ministry as pastor of a Spanish-speaking congregation of the Mennonite Church in Iowa. In addition, he is member of several local organizations, committees, and citizen advisory boards.
For Max, now over 40 years of age, the violence of his childhood and the mistakes of his youth are now well in the past. His marriage is solid, his children are good students, his community service is outstanding, and, in addition, he is a new person. Max is now a father for his children, and pastor for his congregation, and a leader for his community.
But everything changed in the morning of March 3, 2015, when federal agents arrested Max Villatoro in his house due to that DUI incident almost two decades ago. For that mistake, Max can’t remain legally in the United States and, at the time of writing this column, he was about to be deported.
Max said he is not the same person who foolishly drove drunk. In fact, the best proof he is not that person is how much his life changed after that incident. We can easily understand his point. Many of us had done a few things in the past (perhaps not DUI) we are not proud about and we regret we did.
Yet, the law is the law and the law is clear: because Max was arrested for driving under the influence (only once and many years ago) he is now a threat to public safety, and, therefore, he should be deported back to Honduras.
Let me ask: Can we really punish somebody for what he did once, many years ago in his youth, when he was not a father, a pastor, or a community leader, and when he then changed his life to avoid making the same mistake?
In addition, will the public safety increase by leaving a wife without her husband, four children
without their father, a congregation without the pastor, and a community without a leader? Again, the laws are clear: Max is, according to federal authorities, a Priority 2 (misdemeanors, DUIs) undocumented immigrant and he should be deported. Laws should be enforced, not debated. That’s clear.
Now, from a different perspective, should a transformed adult pay for the “sins” of a disoriented young persons? That’s not so clear to me.