Edgar Lee
On March 17, immigrant rights activist and union organizer Jeanette Vizguerra-Ramirez was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and is facing deportation currently in Colorado. Vizguerra’s deportation was postponed by a federal judge two days later as her lawyer’s appeals make its way through the courts.
Vizguerra is a Mexican citizen who entered the U.S. in 1997, and has been working to avoid deportation since 2009 when she was charged with a misdemeanor for possessing a fraudulent Social Security card.
Her arrest was celebrated by former ICE Field Office Director John Fabbricatore on social media, justifying her arrest by stating that she is a criminal who “hates Trump.” Her arrest has been condemned by the Colorado Democrats, despite the Biden administration carrying out deportations at a higher rate than the present Trump administration.
During President Trump’s first term, Vizguerra took refuge in a Denver Colorado church after she feared that her deportation order that had not been enforced under Obama would be enforced by the Trump administration. She gained national attention with her actions, helping popularize “sanctuary churches,” where immigrants facing deportation can reside to avoid arrest.
On May 12, 2017, her deportation was stayed, causing her to move out of the church after 86 days.
In 2019, the stay of deportation expired and ICE denied her U-visa application—a visa intended for crime victims who aid the state in their criminal investigation or persecution—causing her to return to the church.
In 2020, her deportation was paused amid protests in solidarity with her until February 2024, and she left the church.
On March 17, she was arrested outside her job at Target.
Her arrest sparked a demonstration on March 18 outside of the Aurora Colorado ICE facility where she was held, with protesters holding signs reading “FREE JEANETTE.”
On Friday (03/21), Colorado district judge Nina Wang issued a temporary injunction against Vizguerra’s deportation, meaning that ICE cannot move her out of Colorado without further court action, as the deportation to Mexico was imminent and would have likely occurred before the court had time to assess it. A deadline was also set for last Monday (03/24) for ICE and its allied entities to show cause for why Vizguerra’s petition for court assessment of her detention should be rejected, with her court hearing set for Friday (03/28).
This is another example of ICE being used as a political weapon to persecute activists such as Palestine solidarity movement hero Mahmoud Khalil, who was arrested for deportation nearly 3 weeks ago under the justification that immigrants may be deported if they hinder U.S. foreign policy—a law introduced in the McCarthy era, with precedence in mass deportation of activists and revolutionaries around WWI.
While the state has always repressed those against it, such attacks represent a new peak in repression over the last few years, as the state increasingly reactionizes and grapples with its political and economic crises it finds itself enmeshed in.
Image: Jeanette Vizguerra-Ramirez being arrested on March 17. Credit: ICE.
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