In brief
Supporters of Jeanette Vizguerra celebrated a significant legal victory as an immigration judge approved her release on bond following a prolonged detention. Vizguerra, who became prominent for seeking refuge in churches to evade deportation, is working with her family and advocacy groups to secure the bond. She has been fighting against deportation since 2009, stemming from complex issues involving her Social Security identification.
DENVER (AP) — Supporters of a prominent Colorado immigration and labor activist say an immigration judge has ruled that she can post bond and be released after spending nine months in detention. The judge issued a written ruling Sunday allowing Jeanette Vizguerra to post a $5,000 bond, said Jennifer Piper of the American Friends Service Committee, who has been working with Vizguerra’s lawyers and her family. Vizguerra’s family and a nonprofit group that helps pay bonds for individuals in immigration detention were working Monday to arrange the posting of the bond, a process which can take a day or more to complete.Emails seeking comment from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Department of Homeland Security were not immediately returned. Vizguerra gained national attention after seeking sanctuary in various churches in Colorado to avoid deportation during the first Trump administration. She was arrested in the parking lot of the Denver-area Target store where she worked on March 17.Valued for her activism, Vizguerra moved to Colorado from Mexico City in 1997 and has since fought against deportation since 2009 stemming from a traffic stop where a fraudulent Social Security card—with her own name and birth date but someone else’s number—was discovered. Vizguerra was unaware of the discrepancy at the time, according to a 2019 lawsuit against ICE.Her legal team has maintained that ICE was pursuing her deportation based on an invalid order and they have challenged her detention in federal court. Recently, a federal judge ordered a bond hearing to evaluate whether Vizguerra should remain in detention while her immigration case continues.
