A Colorado illegal immigrant who had fought her removal from the United States since 2009 was arrested Monday in Denver.
Jeanette Vizguerra, 53, was arrested during a break from her job at a Target store near Denver, Jordan Garcia, who supports rights for illegal immigrants, said, according to The New York Times, which dubbed her “a symbol of immigrant resistance” to President Donald Trump.
Vizguerra told family members that during her arrest, one agent said, “We finally got you.”
Vizguerra became a high-profile illegal immigrant in 2017 when she took her three youngest children to live in a church, claiming sanctuary from deportation there. In 2021, the Biden administration granted her a one-year stay from deportation.
In a post on X, Immigration and Customs Enforcement said she would stay in ICE custody until she was deported.
Jeanette Vizguerra-Ramirez, 53, was arrested by ICE Denver March 17 without incident. Vizguerra, an illegal alien from Mexico, has convictions for possession of forged documents and illegal entry. She will remain in ICE custody until her removal from the United States. pic.twitter.com/0wdYnuQC1r
— ICE Denver (@ERODenver) March 19, 2025
Vizguerra, 53, first entered the United States illegally in 1997, according to Colorado Newsline. In 2009, she was arrested after a traffic stop and fined.
She lost her court battle to remain in the United States in 2011, but did not leave until 2012. In 2013, she was arrested after returning to Texas. Her last stay from deportation expired in February 2024.
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Vizguerra’s lawyers are fighting her arrest, claiming her due process rights were violated.
ICE said Vizguerra “received legal due process in U.S. immigration court” and said it has a valid deportation order for her signed by a federal judge.
You are a shill for criminals.
She has convictions for 8 USC 1325, fraud (Social Security), driving without a license, and no insurance.
She should have been deported years ago, and she would have had ZERO kids or grandkids in the US.
She had numerous immigration hearings,… pic.twitter.com/Qox4Yny4ya
— John Fabbricatore (@JohnE_Fabb) March 18, 2025
John Fabbricatore, who formerly was in charge of ICE’s Denver office, called Vizguerra “horrible and smug,” according to the New York Post.
He said she led the “abolish ICE movement” in Colorado.
“We’ve known about her for years and she’s gone through the whole immigration process,” Fabbricatore said.
“This woman should’ve been removed in 2009,” he said,
As noted by the Times, Democrats rallied to her cause, with Denver Mayor Mike Johnston calling her arrest a “Putin-style persecution of political dissidents.”
Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado called Vizguerra a “pillar of her community.”
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