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Phoenix man detained by immigration authorities in Phoenix during routine check-in

Posted at 9:20 PM, Mar 02, 2017
and last updated 2017-03-04 07:49:51-05

A Phoenix father was detained Thursday night during a routine check-in with Immigration Custom and Enforcement.

Living United for Change in Arizona (LUCHA) released a statement shortly Juan Carlos Fomperosa Garcia was detained.

LUCHA said he was planning to return home after the meeting and celebrate his child's 14th birthday. However, the single father of three never made it out and ICE officials gave the kids – who were waiting outside of the office – a “green bag” of his father's belongings instead.

ICE spokesperson Yasmeen Pitts O'Keefe said Garcia was taken to the DeConcini Port of Entry in Nogales on Friday morning. According to officials, Garcia has been taken back to Mexico on three separate occasions, including a formal deportation three years ago.

"Last year, he was again ordered removed by an immigration judge with the Department of Justice's Executive Office for Immigration Review and the Board of Immigration Appeals ultimately upheld the lower court's decision," O'Keefe said.

According to ICE, Garcia was convicted of a federal misdemeanor in 2015.

The move comes after President Donald Trump’s administration announced plans to detain anyone in violation of immigration laws and cracking down on those with criminal convictions.

Last month, Guadalupe Garcia de Rayos was turned over to Mexico authorities in Nogales. She entered the United States illegally in the mid-1990s and was arrested in 2009 for impersonation.

RELATED: Phoenix woman speaks out after being deported

Like the unidentified father, she was also arrested during a routine check-in and separated from her husband and teenage children.