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18h ago

Immigration Judge Weighs Release of Activist Jeanette Vizguerra After Court-Ordered Bond Hearing

A federal judge required the government to meet a clear-and-convincing burden because her detention has stretched well past six months.

Jeanette Vizguerra, a Mexican immigrant who had lived in a church to avoid immigration authorities for the previous three months, speaks after leaving the church early Friday, May 12, 2017, in downtown Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)
A woman who did not want her face shown or to be identified protests after activist Jeanette Vizguerra was detained by ICE and taken to the GEO Aurora ICE Processing Center in Aurora, Colorado, on March 18, 2025. (Photo by RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post)
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Overview

  • Immigration Judge Brea Burgie heard arguments Friday and reserved a written decision on whether to grant bond to Jeanette Vizguerra.
  • Government attorneys told the court that USCIS denied Vizguerra’s Military Parole in Place request, which her lawyer said was news to the defense and unusual.
  • Access to the hearing was briefly restricted as GEO Group personnel cited ICE instructions to bar media before allowing reporters in after legal intervention.
  • DHS argued Vizguerra is a danger and flight risk citing a 2009 forged Social Security conviction and traffic offenses, while her attorneys emphasized decades of community ties, prior compliance, and U.S.-born children including a daughter in the Air Force.
  • U.S. District Judge Nina Y. Wang had ordered the bond hearing by Dec. 24 and placed the burden on the government given Vizguerra’s nine months in ICE custody.