AURORA, Colo. (KDVR) — Dozens of protestors gathered outside the Aurora Contract Detention Facility on Monday night, calling for the release of Jeanette Vizguerra, a well-known immigration rights advocate who has been held in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody for six months.
Vizguerra gained national attention in 2017 after taking sanctuary in a Denver church to avoid deportation. Since then, she has remained a vocal critic of ICE.
Supporters at the rally claim her ongoing detention is politically motivated.
“She is in there because through her fight and sanctuary, she showed us that we can stand up against the billion-dollar industry that profits by kidnapping our community on the way to work,” said Miriam Ordoñez with the American Friends Service Committee.
Speaking from inside the Aurora facility via phone and interpreter, Vizguerra addressed her supporters directly.
“For the first time, I feel vulnerable. I feel my health is deteriorating. I am extremely worried for my family, and I need to be out with them. I need to be out with my community,” she said, through a translator.
Vizguerra first came to the United States from Mexico in 1997. In 2009, she was arrested and later pleaded guilty to charges related to using a fraudulent Social Security card. ICE says she self-deported to Mexico in 2012 and returned illegally the following year.
In 2017, she took sanctuary in a Denver church to avoid deportation. Since then, she has received several short-term stays of removal, the most recent of which expired in February 2024, according to ICE. On March 17, she was arrested again and has remained in ICE custody since.
“This has gone on long enough,” said Laura Lichter, Vizguerra’s lead attorney. “This has gone on past a reasonable amount of time to have someone facing detention while they are actively fighting their legal right to contest the government’s action.”
Vizguerra’s legal team filed a new motion Monday seeking her release. Because she has been held for more than six months, her attorneys argue the burden of proof now falls on the government to justify continued detention.
ICE did not respond to a request for comment, but has previously said, “Vizguerra is a convicted criminal alien from Mexico who has a final order of deportation issued by a federal immigration judge.”
Lichter says the government is expected to respond to the filing within the next three weeks.
Anthony Sutton is a business strategist and writer with a passion for management, leadership, and entrepreneurship. With years of experience in the corporate world, he shares insights on business growth, strategy, and innovation through management-opleiding.org.
