AURORA | Supporters of longtime Denver immigration activist Jeanette Vizguerra say they will gather Monday evening outside the Aurora ICE detention center to mark six months since she was taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, an event they say highlights a broader national debate over free speech.
Vizguerra, a nationally recognized immigrant rights leader, was detained in March after publicly criticizing the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement tactics. ICE officials insist she has resided in Colorado illegally
Her attorneys filed a motion Monday in federal court seeking relief from what they call “prolonged detention” that violates her constitutional rights, according to her attorneys.
“I do have hope,” Vizguerra said in a statement released by her legal team. “After serving more than 180 days of unjust detention for using my voice to protect my community and defend our rights, I trust that the court will rule in my favor.”
Monday’s vigil and press conference will take place outside the Aurora ICE detention facility, where Vizguerra is being held. Her family, attorneys and a coalition of local and national advocacy groups are expected to participate.
Organizers said Vizguerra will attempt to address the gathering remotely by video or phone, as she has done in the past, however they noted ICE restrictions have made communication difficult.
The event comes as national debate about free speech has resurfaced, spurred in part by television host Jimmy Kimmel’s recent return to late-night broadcasting after a dispute that drew attention to issues of censorship.
Organizers of the Aurora vigil say Vizguerra’s case illustrates the stakes when critics of government policy are silenced.
“When voices like Kimmel’s and Jeanette’s are silenced, all of our voices are at risk,” the American Friends Service Committee said in announcing the event.
Local unions, faith-based groups, and student organizations have also joined the campaign for her release.
Kerry Kennedy, president of Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, is scheduled to join the vigil by video, organizers said in a statement.
Vizguerra, a mother and community organizer, has long been a prominent voice in Denver’s immigrant rights movement. She previously took sanctuary in a church to avoid deportation and was named one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people in 2017.
“Jeanette’s voice is essential to the national debate,” said Shira Hereld of the Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network. “Her detention not only harms her family but also sends a chilling message to others who speak out.”