Three Key Takeaways:
- Jeanette Vizguerra, a high-profile immigration activist who had been evading deportation for years by hiding in churches, was recently detained by ICE, causing outrage among Democrats like Denver Mayor Mike Johnston, who decried the arrest as “Soviet-style political persecution.”
- Despite having a final order of deportation dating back to the Obama administration, Vizguerra had repeatedly evaded deportation through sanctuary policies, while also advocating for open borders and the abolition of ICE.
- The arrest marks a significant shift in the Trump administration’s enforcement of immigration laws, showing a commitment to removing illegal immigrants regardless of their attempts to hide in protected spaces like churches.
The Trump administration is cracking down on illegal immigration in ways that are making Democrats furious.
A high-profile immigration activist was just detained after years of hiding from authorities.
And Democrats are losing their minds over this arrest.
Denver Mayor calls arrest “Soviet-style persecution”
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has finally caught up with Jeanette Vizguerra, an immigration activist who had been evading deportation for years by hiding in churches.
Vizguerra – who became a prominent open borders advocate – was taken into custody in Aurora on Monday.
Despite having a final order of deportation stretching back to the Obama administration, some Democrats have claimed that Vizguerra is being denied due process.
Denver Mayor Mike Johnston was outraged by the arrest.
“This is not immigration enforcement. This is Soviet-style political persecution of political dissidents under the guise of immigration enforcement,” he said. “This is not someone with a criminal record. This is the mom of American citizens who works at Target.”
Johnston added, “This is not something that makes our community safer in my mind. I think it makes our community lawless.”
Ironically, Johnston was one of four sanctuary Mayors grilled earlier this month by Congressional lawmakers about their respective city’s sanctuary policies at a fiery hearing.
Former ICE official celebrates long-overdue enforcement
John Fabbricatore, a retired ICE field office director, revealed how the Biden administration had prevented him from deporting Vizguerra.
“The Biden administration kept me from deporting Jeanette Vizguerra 4 years ago,” he wrote on X. “She should have been deported in 2009 as well. She hid in a church the first time Trump was President. She is a criminal, hates Trump, and is an open-borders, abolish-ICE advocate. Bye!!!!”
Finally! The Biden administration kept me from deporting Jeanette Vizguerra 4 years ago. She should have been deported in 2009 as well. She hid in a church the first time Trump was President. She is a criminal, hates Trump, and is an open-borders, abolish-ICE advocate. Bye!!!!…
— John Fabbricatore (@JohnE_Fabb) March 18, 2025
Images posted on Vizguerra’s Facebook account depict protests against ICE and calls to abolish the agency.
One particularly disturbing image posted on October 14, 2019, depicted a Native American scalping President Donald Trump, who is pictured on his knees with two arrows piercing his torso with the caption, “This is how you can make America great again.”
A long history of evading deportation
Vizguerra’s history with immigration authorities goes back decades.
In 2009, she was the subject of an ICE detainer in Denver. That same year, she was convicted of second-degree forged instrument possession and sentenced to 23 days in jail.
In March 2009, after being released by ICE, she was convicted of failure to display proof of insurance, driving without a license, and ordered to pay fines.
A federal immigration judge denied Vizguerra’s application for relief from immigration proceedings in 2011, but granted her a voluntary departure.
She failed to depart the U.S. within the 60-day window and instead filed an appeal with the Board of Immigration Appeals.
In September 2012, she voluntarily returned to her native Mexico but was arrested in 2013 by ICE in El Paso, Texas and ordered to be deported.
She was eventually released because she didn’t meet the agency’s priorities for removal under the Obama administration’s policies at the time.
In 2019, Vizguerra skipped an appointment with an immigration official and sought sanctuary at the First Unitarian Society Church in Denver.
She later clandestinely moved to the First Baptist Church a short distance away, where she became a leader in the sanctuary movement.
The Trump administration’s willingness to enforce immigration laws regardless of where illegal immigrants hide shows a dramatic shift from previous policies that allowed activists like Vizguerra to openly flout the law.
