Colorado immigration activist Jeanette Vizguerra released after being granted bond
Colorado immigration activist Jeanette Vizguerra was released from detention on Monday, nine months after she was taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to the American Friends Service Committee.
A statement from the organization, which promotes social justice and community building, indicated that Vizguerra will continue fighting deportation efforts in courts.
"I am thankful that they never gave up, remaining committed even when the outcome seemed dark. They understand that this case is bigger than me. This fight is about the constitutional rights we all share, human rights and dignity for all people," she said in a statement on Monday.
The judge took the weekend to consider the case. The American Friends Service Committee announced that the judge issued a written order on Sunday night granting her release on a $5,000 bond with no electronic monitoring. It's unclear whether the Department of Homeland Security will appeal the ruling.
Photos shared by the American Friends Service Committee and Coloradans for Immigrant Rights showed Vizguerra smiling and hugging her family.
During a bond hearing on Friday, a federal immigration judge heard arguments about why ICE believed Vizguerra may be a danger or a flight risk and should remain in detention at the GEO facility in Aurora. The judge took the weekend to consider the case.
Vizguerra was taken into ICE custody in March and has a final order of deportation. ICE says she entered the country illegally in 1997 and that she forged documents to get a Social Security card. In her bond hearing, the government argued that she should not be released from custody and has exhibited an "unwillingness to follow the law," citing a 2009 conviction for driving without a licence.
She faced deportation in 2009 and took refuge in a Denver church in 2017 and in 2019. Vizguerra was later granted permission to stay in the U.S. under the Biden Administration.
Her lawyers argued that President Trump's administration has unfairly targeted Vizguerra because of her history of immigration activism and have continued to push for her release.
The order states that Vizguerra has not been arrested or cited for any infractions in over a decade and that there is no evidence to suggest that her release would pose a risk of future harm. The court also stated that, given her long residence in the United States and her family and community ties in Colorado, it does not believe she is a flight risk.
Vizguerra's release on bond does not change Immigration and Customs Enforcement's pursuit of her case to remove her from the United States.
ICE released this statement to CBS Colorado:
"Jeanette Vizguerra is a convicted criminal alien from Mexico who has a final order of deportation issued by a federal immigration judge. Her criminal history includes document forgery, driving without a license, and illegal re-entry. She illegally entered the United States near El Paso, Texas, on Dec. 24, 1997, and has received full due process. She was issued a final order of removal by an immigration judge in 2013. Under the Biden administration, she was granted several stays of deportation and this administration is working to correct that error. Now, an activist judge has made her eligible to be released on bond. We will continue to fight for the arrest, detention, and removal of illegal aliens who have no right to be in this country.
"Under President Trump and Secretary Noem, we are once again a nation of laws. We will find, arrest, and deport illegal aliens regardless of if they were a featured 'Time Person of the Year.' If you come to our country illegally, we will deport you, and you will never return. The safest option for illegal aliens is to self-deport, so they still have the opportunity to return and live the American dream."