AFSC
Audio By Carbonatix
On December 22, Immigrant activist Jeanette Vizguerra was finally released from the Aurora detention facility that had held her in custody since she was arrested in March by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
U.S. District Court Nina Wang had ruled in favor of Vizguerra’s release on a $5,000 bond on December 21, according to the American Friends Service Committee, a faith-based social justice group. The AFSC said that Vizguerra’s family would pay the bond with funds from the Immigrant Freedom Fund, which gathers donations to pay bonds for people held at the Aurora ICE facility.
Vizguerra “can be released as soon as processing allows,” the AFSC added. Her family had previously said that they hoped she’d be released by Christmas.
She beat that deadline by three days, walking out of the ICE facility after nine months.
Vizguerra is a high-profile immigrant activist who was named one of the most influential people of 2017 by TIME after she avoided deportation during the first term of President Donald Trump by taking sanctuary in a Denver church. She first came to Denver from Mexico City in 1997.
In September, Vizguerra announced via a video call from inside the detention center that she’d filed a motion to seek her immediate release.
On December 19, she had a bond hearing at the detention center. The GEO Group, the private prison company that runs the facility, denied entry to Vizguerra’s friends and her legal team that morning, as well as members of the press (including aWestword reporter).
“The courtrooms inside GEO are administered by the Department of Justice and are open to the public,” the AFSC announced. “The GEO Group guards violated the public access right and denied members of the legal team access to the courtroom for over forty minutes.”
At that closed hearing, the court found that Vizguerra’s nine-month detention was “unconstitutionally prolonged,” and that ICE failed to prove she’s a flight risk. The court looked at Vizguerra’s “long residence in the United States, consistent compliance with supervision and court appearances, and strong family and community ties.”
Vizguerra’s record didn’t have “any arrests or citations for more than a decade and the lack of evidence showing a present risk of future harm,” the court added.
Although the ruling helps her get out of detention, ICE is now seeking approval of Vizguerra’s removal order from a separate judge, and she is still facing deportation.
Shortly after her arrest in March, Vizguerra had argued that she was targeted by ICE because of her anti-Trump stance and anti-ICE activism. According to the AFSC, Judge Wang found Vizguerra’s “detention may have been motivated by retaliation for her protected First Amendment activity.”
Vizguerra’s legal team is hoping that Wang’ decision carries weight in her deportation proceedings and bodes well for her effort to stay in Denver.
Every Monday since her arrest, Vizguerra’s supporters have held weekly vigils outside of the Aurora ICE facility. “Free Jeanette. Free Them All,” signs at the vigil often read. Today, her supporters were able to greet her in person.
“I am thankful that they never gave up, remaining committed even when the outcome seemed dark. They understand that this case is bigger than me. This fight is about the constitutional rights we all share, human rights and dignity for all people,” she shared in a statement with the AFC.
In May, Vizguerra won the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award. In June, she gave an acceptance speech via video call from inside the detention center, saying that a “new fight for civil rights” was underway.
About 1,400 people are in the Aurora ICE facility at a time under the new Trump administration, up from about 300 last year. Another progressive victory tied to the facility came on December 17, when a federal judge ruled in favor of U.S. Representative Jason Crow’s lawsuit filed after he was denied entry in July. That decision nullified a Trump policy that tried to require seven days’s notice from members of Congress of their intention to visit immigrant detention facilities. Crow spearheaded a law passed in 2019 that requires only 24 hours’ notice.
Vizguerra plans to address her supporters at noon Tuesday, December 23, outside the Alfred A. Arraj Courthouse at 901 19th Street in Denver.
