Jeanette Vizguerra: a high-profile activist and the latest casualty of the immigration crackdown
Famous for hiding out in churches to avoid deportation, the activist has been thrust back into the limelight following her arrest


Mexican immigration advocate Jeanette Vizguerra earned a spot as one of 2017's most influential people after resisting deportation during President Donald Trump's first administration. Her recent detention by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is causing a stir among Colorado politicians and activists.
Vizguerra is one of several high-profile arrests to come out of Trump's immigration crackdown. Last week, a Brown University professor was deported after Homeland Security officials alleged she attended the funeral of a Hezbollah leader in Lebanon. Earlier this month, Mahmoud Khalil, a legal permanent resident who led campus protests at Columbia University against Israel's actions in Gaza, was detained by immigration agents.
A 'bold and risky' history of advocacy
Nearly 20 years ago, in 1997, Vizguerra fled from Mexico with her husband, a bus driver who was held up at gunpoint multiple times, according to a 2011 documentary about their ordeal. She drew national attention in 2017 when she sought refuge in a Colorado church basement with her children, "hoping that the sanctuary of a house of worship would protect her" from the president's deportation plans during his first administration, said The New York Times. Her act of resistance landed her a spot on Time Magazine's TIME100 list that year, alongside Colin Kaepernick, Jeff Bezos, Vladimir Putin and Trump.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Before she began hiding out in the church, Vizguerra was a janitor, working as an "outspoken union organizer" and "building her own company before becoming an advocate for immigration reform — a bold and risky thing for an undocumented immigrant," actor America Ferrera said in her TIME100 profile. Since taking refuge in the church, she has continued to be a vocal advocate against detention and deportation in Colorado, including protesting outside the Aurora detention center. Since she left the sanctuary of the churches in 2020, she has been trying to earn a visa given to crime victims — a visa that would allow her to remain in America.
Vizguerra was arrested March 17, 2025, at a Denver-area Target where she worked, said Jordan Garcia of the American Friends Service Committee, who has been in contact with Vizguerra's lawyer and family. Vizguerra was on break when she was taken into custody by immigration agents. Based on details of the arrest Vizguerra shared with family, Garcia said one of the agents told her, "We finally got you." She is now being held at a detention facility in Aurora, her attorney Laura Lichter said to CNN.
A 'Putin-style persecution'
News of Vizguerra's arrest was "greeted with glee by those supporting Trump's harsh crackdown," CNN said. "Finally!" John Fabbricatore, a former ICE field director, said in a post on X. He claimed the Biden administration kept him from deporting Vizguerra four years ago and called her a "criminal" who "hates Trump and is an open-borders, abolish-ICE advocate."
Her detention "stirred a backlash from Colorado Democratic politicians and immigrant-rights supporters" who "accused the Trump administration of trying to silence critics of its immigration crackdown," said the Times. Denver Mayor Mike Johnston condemned her arrest as a "Putin-style persecution of political dissidents" in a statement. He does not see this as a case of "immigration enforcement." Instead, it is about "targeting political opponents and using the force of your government to punish them."
There are "serious concerns" about ICE's actions during this arrest, Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-Co.) said in an X post. Targeting a "mother who has been an active part of our Colorado community for nearly three decades" will not "fix our broken immigration system or secure our border."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Theara Coleman has worked as a staff writer at The Week since September 2022. She frequently writes about technology, education, literature and general news. She was previously a contributing writer and assistant editor at Honeysuckle Magazine, where she covered racial politics and cannabis industry news.
-
Democrats are on the hunt for their own Joe Rogan
IN THE SPOTLIGHT Party leaders and mega-donors want to counter MAGA's online momentum by recreating a digital right-wing ecosystem for the left
-
Democrats grapple with Biden cover-up fallout ahead of 2028
IN THE SPOTLIGHT Even before his cancer diagnosis, Dems have been grappling with whether the White House's alleged effort to hide Biden's failing health is worth relitigating
-
Trump DOJ charging House Democrat in ICE fracas
speed read Rep. LaMonica McIver is being charged with assault over a clash outside an immigration detention facility in Newark
-
The horse racing industry is caught up in the migrant debate
Under the Radar At least 78% of the workers on race tracks are reportedly immigrants
-
Is Starmer's plan to send migrants overseas Rwanda 2.0?
Today's Big Question Failed asylum seekers could be removed to Balkan nations under new government plans
-
Gabbard fires intelligence chiefs after Venezuela report
speed read Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has fired the top two officials leading the National Intelligence Council
-
California may pull health care from eligible undocumented migrants
IN THE SPOTLIGHT After pushing for universal health care for all Californians regardless of immigration status, Gov. Gavin Newsom's latest budget proposal backs away from a key campaign promise
-
Why are white South Africans emigrating?
The Explainer As the US welcomes Afrikaner refugees, the general exodus of South Africa's white population continues to grow