A U.S. judge has temporarily barred the Trump administration from deporting immigration activist Jeanette Vizguerra, whose detention in Colorado has sparked outrage among state Democrats and immigration rights advocates. The 53-year-old Mexican national, known for seeking refuge in a church to avoid deportation during President Trump’s first term, cannot be moved out of Colorado without further court action, as ruled by U.S. District Judge Nina Wang. A hearing is scheduled for March 28.
Vizguerra was arrested in Denver on Monday, as confirmed by a post from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. She has filed petitions in both federal district and appeals courts challenging the validity of her detention order.
Since taking office in January, the Trump administration has enforced a stringent immigration policy, vowing to pursue mass deportations and significantly reduce illegal crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Her arrest has led to protests outside the ICE facility where she is being held. Several Colorado Democrats have condemned her detention, highlighting that she is a mother to U.S. citizen children and has no history of violent crime. Denver Mayor Mike Johnston described the situation as "Soviet-style political persecution of political dissidents under the guise of immigration enforcement," emphasizing Vizguerra’s role as a working mother and community advocate.
ICE did not respond to requests for comments regarding the court order.
Vizguerra initially entered the U.S. illegally in 1997, according to a 2019 lawsuit against ICE. Since 2009, she has been battling various deportation efforts, beginning with a traffic stop that revealed a fraudulent Social Security card, for which she pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor. She gained national attention in 2017 by living in a church to evade deportation and previously received a one-year reprieve from the Biden administration in 2021.