Bond granted for Colorado immigration activist Jeanette Vizguerra, could be released from ICE custody in days
Nine months after Colorado immigration activist Jeanette Vizguerra was taken into Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody, the American Friends Service Committee says a judge granted her bond, and she should be released by Christmas. It is unclear whether the Department of Homeland Security will appeal the ruling.
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. The American Friends Service Committee, an organization that promotes social justice and community building, announced that the judge issued a written order on Sunday night granting her release on a $5,000 bond with no electronic monitoring.
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.
It will take between 24 and 48 hours to post and process the bond according to AFSC.
Vizguerra's release on bond does not change Immigration and Customs Enforcement's pursuit of her case to remove her from the United States.