A work dispute in 2010 led to a Mexican national who has lived in the U.S. for 15 years being swept up by ICE under its controversial Secure Communities Program. 

Arturo Hernandez Garcia, originally from Mexico, has been living and working in Colorado for 15 years. He's married, and his father-in-law is a citizen. His mother-in-law a resident alien, and he has two daughters of ages 9 and 15.

Last week, he sought sanctuary in a Denver church because of deportation proceedings started against him, according to the Denver Post, which broke the story.

"I want the public to know about my case. There are so many families just like mine that have come here to work and look for a future for our children. ... We are part of this country and not a threat," Garcia said.

Garcia, 41, came to the U.S. from Mexico in 1999 on a visa. He married his wife Ana and has two daughters -- Mariana and Andrea. His visa expired, and he has petitioned the government for legal residency unsuccessfully.  

In 2010, Garcia got into a dispute with a contractor at a job site. Garcia and his crew were laying floor files and needed to close off an area, but another contractor got annoyed and started yelling racial slurs when he was told he couldn't enter the room. Garcia and the man got into a disagreement. Garcia was arrested but was later found innocent. However, by then, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials started deportation proceedings against him through the Secure Communities program.

The controversial program relied on partnerships with federal, state and local law enforcement departments to consult a centralized database if they arrested someone who was undocumented. The person would then be detained for 48 hours while ICE issued a warrant. The Department of Homeland Security agency was using the system to deport those with criminal records, but many others were getting swept up in the program, leading to chaos for many families. The program was very unpopular with law enforcement, and many departments are now publicly rejecting the program as it leaves them exposed to lawsuits for unlawful detention. 

The First Unitarian Society of Denver officially welcomed Garcia on Sunday, where he is living in the church basement.

"We welcomed Arturo Hernandez Garcia into our church, and our attorney notified all the appropriate authorities that Arturo would reside here at First Unitarian for the immediate future," First Unitarian Denver member Kate Burns told the Denver Post.

"All of this is an effort to put pressure on Immigration and Customs Enforcement to stop his deportation order, and in a larger sense, to put pressure on Congress and the president to reform a deeply broken and destructive immigration system."

Garcia's wife has since joined him. 

U.S. Immigration Customs Enforcement officials have a policy of not pursuing people wanted for immigration violations in areas like schools or churches unless for national security reasons or anti-terrorism enforcement.

First Unitarian Denver's Reverend Mike Morran said the church circulated petitions calling for ICE to drop Garcia's deportation and plan to deliver them to the agency this week. The church's board of trustees will review Garcia's sanctuary in three months if there are no developments.