Father of 4 who was never charged with a crime deported in Cleveland

CLEVELAND, Ohio (KABC) -- A father of four was forced to leave his family behind and return to Mexico Tuesday morning.

Jesus Lara Lopez was an undocumented worker who lived in the United States since 2001. He raised his family in Ohio while working various jobs, including picking crops and packing cookies at a Pepperidge Farm plant. His work permit was valid, according to his attorney David Leopold.

"These are the darkest times I've ever seen as an attorney. When the best and the brightest that we have to offer are taken from their homes and sent away," Leopold told WEWS-TV in Cleveland. "The law is so broken."

Lopez has never been charged with a crime. He paid taxes and never collected food stamps.

All of his children were born in the U.S.

According to WEWS-TV, Ohio attorneys said the Trump administration's crackdown has been causing chaos in state immigration courts. The government's orders are producing a backlog of thousands of immigration cases that only a handful of judges can process. Immigrants in the state may have to wait years for their cases to be heard, according to the news station.

A GoFundMe page has been made for Lopez's immediate family in Cleveland, with a goal of $10,000.