Protests break out over Colorado activist Jeanette Vizguerra's detainment by Immigration and Customs Enforcement
A community is in distress, and emotions are running high over the recent ICE detainment of Jeanette Vizguerra, a well-known immigration activist, Monday morning outside her workplace. She was later taken to the GEO/ICE processing center in Aurora. Vizguerra's attorney hopes the court will rule in favor of releasing her by accepting a habeas corpus petition he has filed, arguing her detention is unlawful.
Meanwhile, Vizguerra's family and the community continue to demand answers, anxiously awaiting what will happen next. CBS New Colorado reached out to ICE officials for a statement Tuesday regarding Vizguerra but had not received a response.
What began as an overnight protest in support of Vizguerra's release stretched into the morning hours -- fueled by fear, uncertainty and a daughter's desperate search for her mother.
"I don't know where my mom is," said Luna Baez, Vizguerra's daughter.
Vizguerra has faced deportation before. She fled violence in Mexico in 1997 and has spent years advocating for immigrant rights. She first faced deportation in 2009 and later took sanctuary in a Denver church in 2017 and once again in 2019.
Vizguerra's arrest history includes charges of driving without a license and forging a document with a false social security number. She was later granted permission to stay in the U.S. under the Biden administration. However, under the Trump administration, she's back in custody.
A close friend of Vizguerra, who is identifying as Judith, says they just want answers.
"We don't know what may happen. Just seeing the faces of Jeanette's daughters -- they're tired, they're concerned," Judith said.
It might take the system up to 48 hours to update following an ICE detention.
A spokesperson for the family says Vizguerra met with Congressman Jason Crow's staff Tuesday afternoon. In a statement, his office said, "As a part of its regular oversight efforts, Congressman Crow's office visited the Aurora ICE detention facility today and was able to meet with Jeanette Vizguerra. Our congressional office has asked for additional information from the Trump administration and ICE on why she is being detained."
Several more politicians have called for her release, including Denver Mayor Mike Johnston, who called her detention "a Putin-style persecution."
ICE released this statement to CBS News Colorado, "Jeanette Vizguerra-Ramirez, 53, was arrested without incident March 17 by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. She will remain in ICE custody pending removal from the United States.
"Vizguerra is a convicted criminal alien from Mexico who has a final order of deportation issued by a federal immigration judge. She illegally entered the United States near El Paso, Texas, on Dec. 24, 1997, and has received legal due process in U.S. immigration court."
