KSFY News has been following the story of Jacobo Gabriel Thomas this summer.

The father, tax-payer, and property owner has been living in Worthington, Minnesota for the last 24 years after seeking political asylum from Guatemala. It was a visit that was supposed to end 15 years ago, but he chose to stay in the US to be with his wife and kids.

In 2013, a traffic stop put him on Immigration and Custom Enforcement's radar and he has been working ever since to stay in the country legally.

But during a visit with his ICE officer earlier this month, he was told he is being deported.

His friends gathered to say goodbye Friday.

Friends and members of St. Mary’s Church in Worthington, MN are surrounding Jacobo Gabriel Thomas with love.

“Kind of sad. Kind of scary,” Jacobo Gabriel Thomas said.

He was stoic.

“Just keep my faith and we'll be alright,” he said.

On Monday, he is leaving his wife and four children and he doesn't know when he will see them again.

“Immigration says I have to stay in Guatemala for ten years,” he said.

“Personally, it's been really very difficult because knowing Jacobo, knowing his wife, and knowing his children, to see what an incredible man he is, a father, a member of the community, very active,” Father Jim Callahan said.

Father Callahan is a leader at the sanctuary church in Worthington.

He has been by Jacobo's side during this process.

“The family is really saddened by this event, and it's going to take a long time for them to recover. It's almost like a death,” he said.

They aren't the only people grieving a loss.

“There's not a finer person. He’s kind, he's hardworking, he's giving to his community, he's a good father,” St. Mary’s member Kathy Lesnar said.

Many members of the Worthington community say they don't know what they are going to do without him.

“That smile, I mean his gentle smile,” Lesner said.

Jacobo isn't the first member of the church to be deported.

“Sometimes we think that our country, they make the laws and those laws are good for us, to protect us, but when you see how broken the immigration system is, and you learn, and you see a different side of it, it makes you want to make a positive change,” Lesnar said.

But Jacobo and his friends hope sharing this story can make a difference.

“I would like to say just call your Congressman,” Jacobo said.

And put a face to the immigration debate.

“To know that people who are being deported are good people. It's not everyone who are criminals. It's not everyone who belongs to a gang. Families are being separated and that's the tragedy about this,” Father Callahan said.

A representative from ICE released this statement to KSFY News in May.

"ICE focuses its enforcement resources on individuals who pose a threat to national security, public safety, and border security.

Homeland security secretary John Kelly has made clear, ICE will no longer exempt classes or categories of removable aliens from potential enforcement."