AURORA, Colorado — Jeanette Vizguerra – the woman who took refuge in a church for three years to avoid deportation and created a network of sanctuary churches – was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement Monday in the parking lot of the Target store where she works, one of her children told 9NEWS.
ICE confirmed Vizguerra’s detention in a statement Wednesday.
“Jeanette Vizguerra-Ramirez, 53, was arrested by ICE Denver March 17 without incident,” ICE said in a social media post. “Vizguerra, an illegal alien from Mexico, has convictions for possession of forged documents and illegal entry. She will remain in ICE custody until her removal from the United States.”
Her daughter said Vizguerra is being detained at the ICE facility on Oakland Street in Aurora. She said they had been talking with her but had not had communication with her since about 3 or 4 p.m. Monday.
Several of Vizguerra’s children were gathered outside the Aurora facility Tuesday, and her daughter said they would stay there “as long as it takes.”
The immigrant rights group American Friends Services Committee said in a release that family members heard from Vizguerra shortly before 10 a.m., Tuesday and confirmed she was still at the Aurora facility.
On Tuesday, Vizguerra’s attorney filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus on her behalf, claiming that Vizguerra’s detention violates her Fifth Amendment right to due process and asking for her immediate release. The filing acknowledges that Vizguerra is in the U.S. without legal status, and it doesn’t claim she is a lawful permanent resident of the U.S., but it does claim she is being held by ICE unlawfully.
The filing alleges that ICE agents have not indicated to Vizguerra that she will be placed in removal proceedings, nor has a court issued a final order of removal – both of which would be grounds to keep her in ICE custody.
Vizguerra was pulled over for a traffic violation in 2009 and was convicted for falsifying documents tied to the traffic ticket and entering the country illegally, both misdemeanors. As a result, she was put under a deportation order and appealed it, but a judge denied that.
In 2017, during President Donald Trump’s first term, a sixth stay of removal was denied and, fearing deportation, she spent three years living in the basement of the First Unitarian Church in Denver. It was a sanctuary space considered off-limits for federal agents to enter without a warrant.
First Unitarian Church Reverend Mike Morran spoke out Tuesday against Vizguerra’s detention, saying it feels targeted.
“This administration has shown that they don’t care about legalities,” Morran said. “It’s quite obvious to me that the object of this kind of exercise is to generate fear. To keep people quiet. To keep people who might speak out against injustices or insist on due process make them unwilling to do that.”
As a result of her experience, Vizguerra became an immigration advocate and formed the Metro Denver Sanctuary Coalition, a network of churches providing protection to immigrants fearing deportation.
Denver Mayor Mike Johnston called her detention a “Putin-style persecution.”
“Let’s be clear what happened today,” Johnston said in a statement Tuesday. “This is not immigration enforcement intended to keep our country safe. This is Putin-style persecution of political dissidents. Jeanette Vizguerra is a mother of U.S. citizens. She works at Target. She’s the founder of a local non-profit.
“This is the great lie of the Trump Administration. This is not about safety. This is about political theater and political retribution. This doesn’t make this country safer. It makes this country lawless, which is the most unsafe thing any president can do.
“Arresting Jeanette is a plain abuse of power to go after someone for their political views without the due process that is a cornerstone of our American values. Now is the time to stand up and demand that ICE and the Trump Administration release Jeanette and give her the due process and legal rights she deserves.”
Johnston reiterated his comments in Tuesday’s mayor council meeting, calling it a “dark day of Denver” and saying the city is both worried about and tracking the situation.
“We are prepared to do what we can to make sure it doesn’t happen again,” Johnston said in the meeting.
Gov. Jared Polis (D) issued a statement on Vizguerra, saying he has met with her and knows her.
“Jeanette is a mother and grandmother, has spent decades in our country, helping the community, has a job, has no history of violence, is not a threat to the community, and above all else, deserves due process pursuant to the law,” Polis said in a statement. “I continue to urge President Trump and ICE to focus their actions on violent offenders and be more transparent with states they are operating in, including being transparent about the cost and impact of detentions, raids, and the cost to taxpayers. The state has not seen any transparent accounting of ICE operations in our state and has not been notified beyond press reports of the apprehension of Ms. Vizguerra.”
Democratic U.S. Senators from Colorado Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper spoke out on social media about the detention.
“There are serious concerns about ICE’s actions to detain Jeanette Vizguerra,” Hickenlooper said. “Targeting a mother who has been an active part of our Colorado community for nearly three decades will not fix our broken immigration system or secure our border.”
There are serious concerns about ICE’s actions to detain Jeanette Vizguerra. Targeting a mother who has been an active part of our Colorado community for nearly three decades will not fix our broken immigration system or secure our border. https://t.co/8yAqPB4w57
— Senator John Hickenlooper (@SenatorHick) March 18, 2025
“Jeanette Vizguerra is a mother and pillar in her community,” Bennet wrote. “I am deeply concerned about ICE’s actions to detain her without any due process, like a deportation order. ICE should ensure Jeanette has legal counsel and immediately release her.”
Jeanette Vizguerra is a mother and pillar in her community. I am deeply concerned about ICE’s actions to detain her without any due process, like a deportation order. ICE should ensure Jeanette has legal counsel and immediately release her. https://t.co/oNcCXyPHn2
— Michael Bennet (@SenatorBennet) March 18, 2025
Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser also posted on social media about Vizguerra.
“Jeanette Vizguerra has lived in Colorado for 30 years and has kids and grandkids here,” Weiser said. “Detaining a grandma does not appear to be about public safety. I continue to have serious concerns about violations of due process and will be monitoring the situation.”
Jeanette Vizguerra has lived in Colorado for 30 years and has kids and grandkids here. Detaining a grandma does not appear to be about public safety. I continue to have serious concerns about violations of due process and will be monitoring the situation. https://t.co/RYoCHFae0T
— Phil Weiser (@pweiser) March 18, 2025
Backers of President Trump’s immigration policies cheered Vizguerra being a priority for deportation, citing her speech, her political views and her prominent advocacy.
Former ICE Field Director John Fabbricatore has called Vizguerra a “subversive” and member of the “socialist gang.” Editors of the white nationalist organization VDARE called it a “strategic deportation,” writing, “choose a prominent target, send a message.”
