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4w ago

Judge Allows First Amendment Claims in Jeanette Vizguerra Detention Case

The Colorado immigration activist remains in ICE custody as her legal team adds free speech retaliation claims to her challenge of a disputed deportation order.

File - Jeanette Vizguerra, a Mexican immigrant who has lived in a church to avoid immigration authorities for the past three months, speaks after leaving the church early Friday, May 12, 2017, in downtown Denver.(AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)
File - Jeanette Vizguerra, a Mexican immigrant who has lived in a church to avoid immigration authorities for the past three months, smiles after leaving the church early Friday, May 12, 2017, in downtown Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)
Jeanette Vizguerra, an immigrant rights activist, poses for a portrait at the First Unitarian Society of Denver in Denver on Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021. (Photo by Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post)

Overview

  • Jeanette Vizguerra, a prominent immigration and labor activist, continues to be held in an ICE detention facility in Aurora, Colorado, following her March 17 arrest.
  • A federal judge has temporarily halted her deportation and granted her attorneys permission to amend their legal petition to include First Amendment claims, alleging retaliatory detention due to her activism.
  • Vizguerra’s attorneys argue there is no valid deportation order against her, citing her voluntary departure from the U.S. in 2012 and subsequent re-entry.
  • The amended petition must be filed by April 8, with the government required to respond by April 29; Vizguerra will not face deportation during this period.
  • Her detention has drawn national attention, with ongoing protests, public support from elected officials like Denver Mayor Mike Johnston, and renewed scrutiny of immigration enforcement practices.