4 days ago
Lawyers seek release of Jeanette Vizguerra, Colorado immigration activist, on bond
Lawyers for detained immigrant rights activist Jeanette Vizguerra are asking that she be released on bond or by an injunction pending a final judgement of her petition for habeas corpus, which challenges the legality of her detention.
In a new filing in the federal district court of Colorado, her lawyers are requesting "her immediate release pending adjudication of her petition."
While her case drags out in federal court, they say the harm to her, her family and community outweighs any harm her release would pose to the government.
Jeanette Vizguerra
ICE
Vizguerra was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement more than 10 weeks ago. She is being held at the GEO facility in Aurora.
Her lawyers say her activism and promotion of immigrant rights is viewed as a "threat to government overreach" and her arrest is a violation of the First Amendment right to free speech.
Vizguerra has been in the United States for more than thirty years and has three children who were born here.
"I'm just very desperate, very desperate for her to be out, you know, in whatever way possible, it's very scary for her to be in custody," said Vizguerra's daughter Luna Baez Vizguerra. "I never know what they might be capable of doing to her, more so because she does have a little bit more attention towards herself."
In the new filing, Vizguerra provides a declaration where she described the effects of her detention, "I am worried about the impact on my kids, grandkids, and ex-partner, all of whom rely on me...I particularly fear for my ex-partner and my youngest daughter, who struggle the most when I am separated from them…Detention makes it nearly impossible for me to be the activist and organizer that I am, and not being able to be there for the community with so many difficult things coming from this administration, so much terror and confusion is devastating."
In a recent filing, government lawyer's wrote, "The Supreme Court has determined that noncitizens cannot challenge the enforcement of a removal order based on a selective enforcement theory. Thus, Petitioner does not have a viable First Amendment retaliation challenge here."
Upon her arrest on March 17, ICE issued a statement saying, "Vizguerra is a convicted criminal alien from Mexico who has a final order of deportation issued by a federal immigration judge. She illegally entered the United States near El Paso, Texas, on Dec. 24, 1997, and has received legal due process in U.S. immigration court."
The government has 21 days to respond to the motion for bond.
