Popular Immigration Activist is Detained by ICE, Triggering Public Protests in Colorado

Jeanette Vizguerra, a well-known immigrant rights activist in Colorado, was detained Monday by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), prompting public protests and outcry from advocacy groups.

Vizguerra, who has spent over two decades advocating for undocumented immigrants and was named one of TIME magazine's 100 Most Influential People in 2017, is being held at the ICE detention facility in Aurora, Colorado.

According to the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), which has supported Vizguerra for years, she was detained outside her place of employment at a Target store, as reported by The Colorado Sun. Her family has since launched a GoFundMe campaign, with her daughter writing:

"My mom on Monday, March 17th got detained outside of her job at Target, and was arrested by a few ICE officers while they laughed in her face. 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. I'd love to stress that my mom is not only a pillar but an essential part to our lives. She's the only person we can truly depend on in any situation where we need help. She's present in so many aspects and I cannot continue living a life without her here with us. Any help is appreciated to get any support for my mom"

Vizguerra's detention triggered demonstrations outside the Aurora facility, where protesters expressed concern for her well-being and future, as CBS News reports . Raquel Lane-Arellano of the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition said that "ICE's attempt to deport Jeanette is an attack not just on her, but on every immigrant who has stood up to fight for dignity and justice." The coalition also stated fears that she may be transferred to another facility out of state due to her strong community connections in Colorado.

Vizguerra first entered the U.S. without documentation from Mexico in 1997. According to AFSC, she fled after her husband was threatened at gunpoint. She has four children, three of whom were born in the United States. Her first interaction with immigration authorities occurred in 2009, when she was stopped for driving without a license in Arapahoe County. She was charged with a misdemeanor and flagged for deportation.

Vizguerra voluntarily returned to Mexico to visit her dying mother in 2012, re-entering the U.S. the following year. In 2017 she took sanctuary in Denver's First Unitarian Society church after being accused of using a false Social Security number on a job application.

She remained in sanctuary for over three years, during which time Democratic lawmakers from Colorado introduced legislation to shield her from deportation, leading to a two-year reprieve. That reprieve expired in 2019, and although she returned to sanctuary briefly, she left in 2020.

Speaking to CBS News in January, Vizguerra voiced concerns over the political climate:

"Whatever place. I don't care if it's a hospital, I don't care if it's a school, I don't care if it's a church... I don't care if some people have 40, 50 years here. Everybody is at risk"