Fwd: Community Organizations and Elected Officials Demand Immediate Release of Jeanette Vizguerra Following Unjust ICE Detention

[Patricia Olson]

Patricia N Olson, DVM, PhD

6106 N Elmira Court

Denver, CO 80238

970-222-0881

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: The Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition (CIRC) <raq...@coloradoimmigrant.org>
Date: Wed, Mar 19, 2025 at 5:30 AM
Subject: Community Organizations and Elected Officials Demand Immediate Release of Jeanette Vizguerra Following Unjust ICE Detention
To: Patricia Olson <patrici...@comcast.net>

Community organizations across Colorado are calling for the immediate release of Jeanette Vizguerra

If you're having trouble viewing this email, you can see it online. * Sigue en Español* FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 18th, 2025 Community Organizations and Elected Officials Demand Immediate Release of Jeanette Vizguerra Following Unjust ICE Detention Denver, CO – Community organizations and elected officials across Colorado are calling for the immediate release of Jeanette Vizguerra, a beloved mother, grandmother, and longtime community leader, after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) unjustly and forcibly took her into custody without warning at her workplace Monday, March 17, 2025 and immediately transferred her to the GEO immigration detention center. Advocates believed she had been moved after observing men and women being loaded onto vans and driven to the airport. At 9:46am her family received a call from her saying she is inside GEO. Her lawyer was able to confirm at 10:15am. Jeanette Vizguerra has fought her own deportation since 2009 while advocating for immigrant rights, labor protections, and family unity. She is a mother of four—including a permanent resident and three U.S. citizen children—and has lived in Colorado for nearly 30 years. Jeanette is a pillar of the community and has supported countless families. ICE had no reason to detain her—this cruel and unnecessary action is causing irreparable harm to her family and community. It is clear she is being targeted for her community organizing and critiques of the deportation system as well as her outspoken defense of human rights.  Despite knowing they do not have a valid deportation order, ICE acted without notifying Ms. Vizguerra or her attorneys and placed her in the GEO Group for-profit detention center in Aurora. ICE’s actions raise serious due process concerns, and her attorneys are working to correct the legal errors behind her detention. We, the undersigned organizations and elected officials, call on ICE to right this wrong and release Jeanette Immediately, stop her deportation. Jeanette belongs with her family.  An Urgent Call to Action Jeanette was able to briefly call her daughter on March 17 before facility officials cut off phone access for unknown reasons. Concerned for her safety, her family and community members held an all-night vigil outside the GEO detention center from Monday to Tuesday, gathering in song, drumming, chanting, candle lighting, and contacting congressional offices to demand her release. ICE’s detention of Jeanette also mirrors other disturbing recent detentions of immigrants who have spoken out for justice, including Mr. Mahmoud Khalil and Ms. Leqaa Kordia, who have been unlawfully detained over the past week. Sign and share the petition to free Jeanette: https://secure.afsc.org/a/freejeanette Donate to the family’s GoFundMe to cover legal costs: https://gofund.me/5cb78117 The family hopes this is an administrative error by ICE. However, if not, this unjust detention reflects a disturbing pattern of ICE targeting immigrant leaders without legal basis. Join Us at for a Vigil Tonight, Tuesday, March 18th and a Rally on Wednesday, March 19th The family is also calling on the community to attend a vigil tonight, Tuesday, March 18th at 6PM at the GEO detention center (3130 Oakland St, Aurora). They are also calling for a rally in Denver in support of all those detained by ICE. Join us on Wednesday, March 19 at 3:30PM at the Tivoli Quad to demand justice for Jeanette, Mahmoud, Leqaa, and all those facing unjust detention and targeting violating their first amendment right to speech.   Who Is Jeanette Vizguerra? Jeanette Vizguerra is one of the most recognized voices in the immigrant justice movement. In 2017, she was named one of Time Magazine’s most influential people for her courage in standing against the U.S. immigration system that has long sought to separate her from her children. She has worked tirelessly to build her community in Colorado, organizing with SEIU as a labor organizer, volunteering in her children’s schools, and supporting countless advocacy organizations, including: Aurora Neighborhood Watch Program Rights for All People American Friends Service Committee Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition National Domestic Workers Association We Belong Together Metro Denver Sanctuary Coalition Jeanette is also the founder of multiple community-led organizations, including Dreamer’s Mothers in Action-Colorado, Abolish ICE Denver, and Sanctuary4All. ICE’s attempt to deport Jeanette is an attack not just on her, but on every immigrant who has fought for dignity and justice. We demand her immediate release. Signed,  ACLU of Colorado Al Frente de La Lucha  Amanda Gonzalez, Jefferson County Clerk and Recorder American Friends Service Committee Andy Kerr, Jefferson County Commissioner, District 2 Arvada Immigration Protection Team (IPT) Arvada United Methodist Church Aurora Unidos CSO  Barbara Durbin, Concerned citizen Boulder County Immigrant Protection Team Brice Maiurro, Editor-in-Chief, South Broadway Press Bring Our Neighbors Home Coalition Bryan Lindstrom, Aurora Education Association, Political Committee Chair Boulder Students For Justice In Palestine CASA Casa de Paz  Celestial Alegría Center for Health Progress  Centro de los Trabajadores de Colorado Chinook Fund Chris Davis, Chair of the Colorado Young Democrats Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA) Cobalt Advocates Colorado Center on law and Policy  Colorado Circles for Change  Colorado Civic Engagement Roundtable Colorado Consumer Health Initiative Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition  Colorado Freedom Fund Colorado Immigrant Protection Teams Colorado Jobs With Justice Colorado Organization for Latina Opportunity and Reproductive Rights (COLOR) Colorado People’s Alliance  Colorado Springs People's Coalition Colorado Working Families Party  Commissioner Emma Pinter, Adams County, Colorado Commissioner Jessica Campbell, Arapahoe County, District 2 Commissioner Tamara Pogue, Summit County, Colorado Compañeros: Four Corners Immigrant Resource Center Convivir Colorado CORE: Community Organizing for Radical Empathy Councilwoman Alicia Johnson, Evans City Council, Ward 3 Councilman Joel Newton, Edgewater City Council Councilmember Sarah Parady, Denver City Council, At Large Councilmember Shawna Ambrose, Arvada City Council District 2 Councilor Isabel Cruz, Lakewood City Council, Ward 2 Councilwoman Alison Coombs, Aurora City Council, At-Large Councilwoman Amanda P. Sandoval, Denver City Council President  Councilwoman Crystal Murillo, Aurora City Council, Ward 1 Councilwoman Flor Alvidrez, Denver City Council, District 7 Councilwoman Hannah Gay Keao, City of Edgewater Councilwoman Jamie Torres, Denver City Council Councilwoman Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez, Denver City Council, At-large Councilwoman Shontel M. Lewis, Denver City Council, District 8  Democratic Women’s Caucus of Colorado Denver Aurora Community Action Committee Denver Classroom Teachers Association Denver Communists Denver Democratic Socialists of America Denver Immigrant Protection Team  Denver Justice and Peace Committee Dr. Alejandra B. Portilos, Assistant Professor of Sociology, Regis University  Dr. Bryan Rojas-Araúz, In Lak’ech Counseling / DU Professor  Dr. Lynn Holland, Josef Korbel School of International Studies, University of Denver Dr. Margaret Thompson, Professor Emerita, University of Denver Dr. Whitney L. Duncan, Professor of Anthropology, University of Northern Colorado DSA Fort Collins Edgewater Collective Ellen Buckley, Board Chair, Women’s Lobby of Colorado Elizabeth Sullivan, First Vice Chair of Jefferson County Young Democrats El Movimiento Sigue, Pueblo, CO Embracing Nonviolence Erin Myrent, Board Member, Women’s Lobby of Colorado Firebrand Communists First Unitarian Society of Denver Foothills Unitarian Church, Fort Collins Colorado Freedom Road Socialist Organization - Denver Fuerza Latina (CO) Gail Pough, former State Representative District 42 Grupo Esperanza de Colorado Springs  Hans Meyer Law Office  Heidi Henkel, Broomfield City and County Ward 5 Hispanic Affairs Project (HAP) Hispanic Disability Support (Pasitos Gigantes) Hon. Leslie Herod, former Colorado State Representative  Hon. Rey Galindo, former Colorado State Representative  Housekeys Action Network Denver Hunger Free Colorado Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights Immigrant Freedom Fund (CO) Indivisible Front Range Resistance Interfaith Alliance of Colorado InterReligious Task Force on Central America and Colombia Iriana Medina, La Plaza ISAAC of Northern Colorado James Rashad Coleman, Sr. - Colorado Senate District 33, Colorado Senate President Jefferson Unitarian Church (Golden, CO) Jennifer Bacon, Assistant Majority Leader, Colorado House of Representatives Jeremi Medina, Vice Chair of Community Engagement of Colorado Young Democrats Jeri Shepherd, former DNC member, chair, Weld County Democratic Party Juan Marcano, former Aurora City Council Member, Ward 4 Juntos Community  Lamar Unidos  Latina SafeHouse LATINO - Latinos Associated Together Informing Networking and Outreaching  Lisa Cutter, Colorado State Senate District 20, Assistant Majority Leader Liz Webb, Chair of the Weld Young Dems, host of The Left-Wing Wave Local Progress Colorado Maine People’s Alliance Make the Road NV Make the Road NY Make the Road States  Manny Rutinel, Colorado State Representative, District 32 Marta Loachamin, Boulder County Commissioner, District 2 Mayor Pro Tem Susie Hidalgo-Fahring, Longmont City Council, Ward 3 Michael Neil, PhD, Volunteer Colorado Cross-Disability Committee, Member State Central Committee and State Executive Committee, Interim Chair Disability Strong Democrats, Colorado Democratic Party, and Platform Chair, Denver Democratic Party  Michael Westerberg, J.D. LL.M., Arapahoe County Colorado Treasurer Migrant Justice Solidarity Group with Coalition of Anti-Racist Whites Motus Theater Women’s Lobby of Colorado Mountain Pride Movimiento Poder  National Immigration Law Center (NILC) National Korean American Service and Education Consortium (NAKASEC) New Era Colorado Nick Hinrichsen, Colorado Senate District 3, Majority Whip Nishant Upadhyay, Assistant Professor, University of Colorado Boulder Ohio Immigrant Alliance Oneamerica, Washington state  One Colorado Our Voices Our Power United  Party for Socialism and Liberation - Denver PCUN, Oregon’s Farmworker Union Pia Long, Elephant Circle Popular Democracy Professor Aaron Schneider, University of Denver ProgressNow Colorado Education Project Protect Food Systems Workers, a project of Front Line Farming Rebecca Andruszka, Board Member, Women’s Lobby of Colorado Rebecca Galemba, Professor, DU Center for Immigration Policy & Research Reilly Vail Jackson, Vice Chair of Communications for the Boulder Young Democrats  Representative Elizabeth Velasco, Colorado House District 57 Representative Lorena Garcia, Colorado House District 35 Renée Chacon, Commerce City Council Womxn for Ward III Rocky Mountain Equality RockyMountain Equality Action Fund Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network (RMIAN) Satya Yoga Cooperative  SEIU Local 105 Social Justice Council, Boulder Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship  Senator Cathy Kipp Colorado State Senate District 14 Senator Julie Gonzales, Colorado State Senate District 34 Senator Mike Weissman, Colorado State Senate District 28 Services, Immigrant Rights and Education Network (SIREN) Servicios Sigue Shiquita Yarbrough Longmont City Councilwoman At Large Shoes Off Collective Siegel Long Public Affairs  Soul 2 Soul Sisters The Action Lab  The Bell Policy Center The BIPOC Alliance of Northern Colorado The Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition The G.I.F.T. Movement: Genocide Intolerance Forwarding Together The New York Immigration Coalition  The Redress Movement,CO Tim Hernandez, former Colorado State Representative District 4 Voces Unidas de las Montañas Western Colorado Alliance Women’s Lobby of Colorado Womxn From The Mountain  YouthSeen & Black Pride Colorado PARA PUBLICACIÓN INMEDIATA Marzo 18, 2025 Organizaciones de Comunidad y Representantes Electos Demandan Liberación Inmediata de Jeanette Vizguerra Siguiente Injusta Detención en ICE Denver, CO – Las organizaciones comunitarias y los representantes electos a lo largo de Colorado están exigiendo la liberación inmediata de Jeanette Vizguerra, una querida madre, abuela y líder comunitaria de larga trayectoria, después de que el Servicio de Inmigración y Control de Aduanas (ICE por sus siglas en inglés) la detuviera injustamente sin previo aviso en su lugar de trabajo el lunes 17 de marzo y la trasladara de inmediato al centro de detención de inmigración de GEO. Jeanette Vizguerra ha luchado contra su propia deportación desde 2009 mientras aboga por los derechos de los inmigrantes, las protecciones laborales y la unidad familiar. Es madre de cuatro hijos—incluyendo un residente permanente y tres hijos ciudadanos estadounidenses—y ha vivido en Colorado por casi 30 años. Jeanette es un pilar de la comunidad y ha apoyado a innumerables familias. ICE no tenía ninguna razón para detenerla; esta acción cruel e innecesaria está causando un daño irreparable a su familia y a la comunidad. A pesar de saber que no tienen una orden de deportación válida, ICE actuó sin notificar a la Sra. Vizguerra ni a sus abogados y la trasladó al centro de detención con fines de lucro del Grupo GEO en Aurora. Las acciones de ICE plantean serias preocupaciones sobre el debido proceso, y sus abogados están trabajando para corregir los errores legales detrás de su detención. Nosotras, las organizaciones firmantes, instamos a ICE a corregir esta injusticia y liberar a Jeanette de inmediato. Jeanette pertenece a su familia.  Un Llamado Urgente de Acción Jeanette pudo llamar brevemente a su hija el 17 de marzo antes de que los funcionarios del centro de detención cortaran el acceso telefónico por razones desconocidas. Preocupados por su seguridad, su familia y miembros de la comunidad realizaron una vigilia durante toda la noche frente al centro de detención GEO de lunes a martes, reuniéndose para cantar, tocar tambores, cantar consignas, encender velas y contactar a oficinas congresionales para exigir su liberación. La detención de Jeanette por parte de ICE también refleja otros inquietantes casos recientes de detención de inmigrantes que han alzado la voz por la justicia, incluyendo al Sr. Mahmoud Khalil y a la Sra. Leqaa Kordia, quienes han sido detenidos ilegalmente en la última semana.   Firmen y compartan la peticion para liberar a Jeanette: https://secure.afsc.org/a/freejeanette Done al GoFundMe de la familia para cubrir costos legales: https://gofund.me/5cb78117 La familia espera que esto sea un error administrativo por parte de ICE. Sin embargo, de no ser así, esta detención injusta refleja una preocupante tendencia de ICE al atacar a líderes inmigrantes sin base legal. Únase a nosotros para una vigilia esta noche, martes 18 de marzo y una manifestación el miércoles 19 de marzo. La familia invita a la comunidad a una vigilia esta noche, martes 18 de marzo, a las 6PM en el centro de detención GEO (3130 Oakland St, Aurora). También invita la comunidad a una manifestación en Denver en apoyo a todos los detenidos por ICE. Únanse a nosotros el miércoles 19 de marzo a las 3:30PM en el Tivoli Quad para exigir justicia para Jeanette, Mahmoud, Leqaa y todos aquellos que enfrentan detenciones injustas y ataques que violan su derecho a la libertad de expresión, amparado por la Primera Enmienda. ¿Quién es Jeanette Vizguerra? Jeanette Vizguerra es una de las voces más reconocidas en el movimiento por la justicia para los inmigrantes. En 2017, fue nombrada una de las personas más influyentes por la revista Time por su valentía al enfrentarse al sistema de inmigración de EE. UU., que durante mucho tiempo ha intentado separarla de sus hijos. Ha trabajado incansablemente para fortalecer su comunidad en Colorado, organizando con SEIU como activista laboral, ofreciendo su tiempo como voluntaria en las escuelas de sus hijos y apoyando a innumerables organizaciones de defensa, incluyendo: Aurora Neighborhood Watch Program Rights for All People American Friends Service Committee Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition National Domestic Workers Association We Belong Together Metro Denver Sanctuary Coalition Jeanette también es fundadora de varias organizaciones comunitarias, entre ellas Dreamer’s Mothers in Action-Colorado, Abolish ICE Denver y Sanctuary4All. El intento de ICE de deportar a Jeanette es un ataque no sólo contra ella, sino contra cada inmigrante que ha luchado por la dignidad y la justicia. Exigimos su liberación inmediata. Firmado por,  ACLU of Colorado Al Frente de La Lucha  Amanda Gonzalez, Jefferson County Clerk and Recorder American Friends Service Committee Andy Kerr, Jefferson County Commissioner, District 2 Arvada Immigration Protection Team (IPT) Arvada United Methodist Church Aurora Unidos CSO  Barbara Durbin, Concerned citizen Boulder County Immigrant Protection Team Brice Maiurro, Editor-in-Chief, South Broadway Press Bring Our Neighbors Home Coalition Bryan Lindstrom, Aurora Education Association, Political Committee Chair Boulder Students For Justice In Palestine CASA Casa de Paz  Celestial Alegría Center for Health Progress  Centro de los Trabajadores de Colorado Chinook Fund Chris Davis, Chair of the Colorado Young Democrats Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA) Cobalt Advocates Colorado Center on law and Policy  Colorado Circles for Change  Colorado Civic Engagement Roundtable Colorado Consumer Health Initiative Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition  Colorado Freedom Fund Colorado Immigrant Protection Teams Colorado Jobs With Justice Colorado Organization for Latina Opportunity and Reproductive Rights (COLOR) Colorado People’s Alliance  Colorado Springs People's Coalition Colorado Working Families Party  Commissioner Emma Pinter, Adams County, Colorado Commissioner Jessica Campbell, Arapahoe County, District 2 Commissioner Tamara Pogue, Summit County, Colorado Compañeros: Four Corners Immigrant Resource Center Convivir Colorado CORE: Community Organizing for Radical Empathy Councilwoman Alicia Johnson, Evans City Council, Ward 3 Councilman Joel Newton, Edgewater City Council Councilmember Sarah Parady, Denver City Council, At Large Councilmember Shawna Ambrose, Arvada City Council District 2 Councilor Isabel Cruz, Lakewood City Council, Ward 2 Councilwoman Alison Coombs, Aurora City Council, At-Large Councilwoman Amanda P. Sandoval, Denver City Council President  Councilwoman Crystal Murillo, Aurora City Council, Ward 1 Councilwoman Flor Alvidrez, Denver City Council, District 7 Councilwoman Hannah Gay Keao, City of Edgewater Councilwoman Jamie Torres, Denver City Council Councilwoman Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez, Denver City Council, At-large Councilwoman Shontel M. Lewis, Denver City Council, District 8  Democratic Women’s Caucus of Colorado Denver Aurora Community Action Committee Denver Classroom Teachers Association Denver Communists

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Patricia N Olson, DVM, PhD

6106 N Elmira Court

Denver, CO 80238

970-222-0881