A Colorado immigration activist who previously took sanctuary in a Denver church to avoid deportation was detained Monday by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to the American Friends Service Committee.
Jeanette Vizguerra was detained by ICE agents Monday without a valid deportation order and placed at the agency’s detention facility in Aurora, which is run by private contractor GEO Group, according to a news release from the committee.
The social justice group said in the news release that Vizguerra’s attorneys “have raised serious legal errors and concern her due process rights are being violated.”
Observers gathered outside the detention facility Tuesday morning believe Vizguerra and others were taken on a bus to Denver International Airport at 7:48 a.m. The American Friends Service Committee said in a 9:21 a.m. update it’s likely she’s already at the airport, but her lawyers have not been able to confirm her location.
The social justice group said Vizguerra’s lawyers have filed a habeas motion with the district court to challenge her unlawful imprisonment.
“It’s clear to us now that the government of our country is targeting our mom in violation of her rights and due process, for her bravery and courage, for her leadership and skill, for her speech,” Vizguerra’s family said in a statement released by the American Friends Service Committee. “She taught us never to be silent in the face of injustice and we will keep fighting for our mom.”
Vizguerra’s daughter, Luna Baez, said in a GoFundMe post that Vizguerra was detained outside of her job at a Target store.
“My mom has fought relentlessly for her community and it is time for all of us to now come together and show all the support for her like she has done to us,” Baez said in the fundraising post.
A news release signed by more than 60 organizations and lawmakers — including state Sen. Julie Gonzales, state Rep. Elizabeth Velasco and Denver City Council President Amanda Sandoval — called for the immediate release of Vizguerra.
The letter said that Vizguerra was able to call her daughter on Monday from the facility before her phone access was disrupted.
Vizguerra, a mother of four, has lived in the United States for nearly 30 years after immigrating to Colorado from Mexico with her eldest daughter and husband in 1997, according to the American Friends Service Committee.
She was pulled over in 2009 for driving with an expired inspection sticker. Vizguerra refused to answer when the police officer asked if she was in the country legally and was arrested, kickstarting a years-long fight to avoid deportation and stay in the U.S.
Police searched Vizguerra’s bag and said they found a fake Social Security number. She was charged with misdemeanor identity theft and criminal possession of a forged instrument, later pleading guilty to one misdemeanor count.
She served 21 days in jail and was placed in removal proceedings upon her release, but sued ICE to block her deportation.
The immigrant rights activist was also denied a U visa in 2019 — a type of visa that allows undocumented immigrants to live legally in the U.S.
Vizguerra said the denial cited 11 factors, including having a criminal history, her comments to the New York Times about immigrant rights, a period when she left the U.S. to visit her dying mother in Mexico and letting her passport expire in 2017 while she was in sanctuary.
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