Immigration activist Jeanette Vizguerra arrested by ICE agents

Denver, Colorado - Jeanette Vizguerra, a well-known immigration reform activist, was recently arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers whom she claims had been following her.

Immigration activist Jeanette Vizguerra was recently arrested by ICE agents in Colorado in accordance with the Trump administration's deportation efforts.
Immigration activist Jeanette Vizguerra was recently arrested by ICE agents in Colorado in accordance with the Trump administration's deportation efforts.  © JOHN MOORE / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP

According to CNN, Vizguerra was detained by ICE agents on Monday outside a Target store where she worked as a cashier and is now being held at a detention facility in Aurora, Colorado.

Luna Baez, one of Vizguerra's four children, told the outlet that her mother had noticed unmarked vehicles following her in recent days.

Upon her arrest, Baez said her mother told her agents "surrounded her on all sides" during her break and "were laughing at her" as she was being detained.

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Vizguerra came to the US from Mexico in 1997, and has since been living undocumented while trying to attain a visa.

In 2009, she faced charges for not having a driver's license and using a made-up Social Security number on job applications, which got the attention of immigration officials.

In 2017, Vizguerra took sanctuary in the First Unitarian Church in Denver for three years to evade deportation by then-President Donald Trump. Her story quickly received international attention, and that year she was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine.

Since Trump's re-election, he has launched an aggressive deportation effort with a proclaimed intent to purge the US of violent undocumented criminals, but his actions have resulted in a significant number of non-violent immigrants being kicked out of the country.

Colorado officials react to Jeanette Vizguerra's detention

Jeanette Vizguerra holds her fist up high as she addresses supporters gathered outside the First Unitarian Church in Denver, Colorado on February 18, 2017.
Jeanette Vizguerra holds her fist up high as she addresses supporters gathered outside the First Unitarian Church in Denver, Colorado on February 18, 2017.  © JASON CONNOLLY / AFP

Multiple Colorado officials have spoken out to denounce Vizguerra's detention.

Democratic state Governor Jared Polis said Vizguerra "deserves due process" and urged President Trump and ICE to "focus their actions on violent offenders and be more transparent with states they are operating in."

In a video shared on X, Denver Mayor Mike Johnston described her arrest as "Soviet-style political persecution of political dissidents under the guise of immigration enforcement."

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"This is not something that makes our community safer, in my mind. It's something that makes our community lawless," Johnston added.

State Senator Michael Bennet wrote in an X post that Vizguerra is a "pillar in her community" and said he was concerned she was detained without due process.

"ICE should ensure Jeanette has legal counsel and immediately release her," Bennet added.

Since her arrest, community activists, union members, local supporters, friends, and family have been demonstrating outside the detention center in Aurora where she is being held.

Cover photo: JOHN MOORE / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP

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