A prominent immigration and labour activist in Colorado has been granted the right to post bond and secure her release after spending nine months in detention, her supporters have confirmed.
Judge's Ruling Paves Way for Release
An immigration judge issued a written ruling on Sunday allowing Jeanette Vizguerra to post a $5,000 bond, according to Jennifer Piper of the American Friends Service Committee. Piper has been working closely with Vizguerra's legal team and family.
On Monday, Vizguerra's family and a non-profit organisation that assists with bonds for immigration detainees were working to post the required amount. The processing of such bonds typically takes a day or more.
A Long-Running Legal Battle
Vizguerra, who moved to Colorado from Mexico City in 1997, has been contesting deportation since 2009. That year, she was stopped in suburban Denver and found to possess a fraudulent Social Security card. A 2019 lawsuit she filed against ICE stated the card bore her own name and date of birth but used another person's actual Social Security number, which Vizguerra said she did not know belonged to someone else at the time.
Her legal representatives have argued that ICE has been attempting to deport her based on an order that was never valid. They subsequently challenged her detention in federal court.
Church Sanctuary and Recent Arrest
Vizguerra first gained national attention for seeking sanctuary in churches across Colorado to avoid deportation during the initial Trump administration. Her most recent period of detention began on March 17, when she was arrested in the car park of the Denver-area Target store where she was employed.
The recent federal court intervention led a judge to order a bond hearing in immigration court. This hearing was to determine whether Vizguerra should remain detained at a facility in suburban Denver while her immigration case proceeds.
Emails sent to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Department of Homeland Security seeking comment on the judge's latest bond ruling were not immediately returned.
