'They will not silence me': Prominent activist released from ICE detention after 9 months
Immigrant rights activist Jeanette Vizguerra-Ramirez was released from an ICE detention facility in Colorado on Monday after nine months in custody.
Vizguerra-Ramirez was detained at the GEO Immigration Detention Center, and a judge ordered her release on a $5,000 bond after finding the Department of Homeland Security failed to justify her continued detention. The facility has been criticized for its lack of adequate health care and poor nutrition.
“I need to return home, not only for my family and my grandchildren, but also for my community, which needs me," Vizguerra-Ramirez said in a statement before her release. "They need a strong, solid leader to guide them, to direct them, to show them how we must continue this fight. I said it in the past, and I say it now: they will not silence me. No matter where I am, I will continue to defend my values and my community.”
She has lived in the United States since 1997, is the mother of four U.S. citizen children, and a grandmother with a deep connection to the greater Colorado community. In 2017, she was named one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people. And after receiving a stay of deportation and leaving sanctuary, she continued to work tirelessly as a leader among immigration and social justice movements.
ICE re-arrested her on March 17 at her workplace — one of many targeted during the harsh immigration tactics under the second Trump administration.
The U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado ruled that Vizguerra-Ramirez’s detention had become unconstitutionally prolonged and required a custody hearing, according to a news release. The court acknowledged serious concerns over her detention, including whether it was motivated by retaliation for her well-established and highly known community activism, which is protected under the First Amendment.
Her friends and family fought for her release.
“We will continue to stand with Jeanette and against any administration that tries to jail and deport our communities and families,” said Jordan Garcia, Co-Director of the American Friends Service Committee in Colorado. “Jeanette – and many others – have been deprived of their freedom for the simple act of speaking truth to power. But their attempts to silence us did not and will not succeed. Today, as we welcome Jeanette home, we are more united and determined than ever to work for a world where everyone’s rights are respected, and we all have what we need to thrive.”
Vizguerra-Ramirez will remain in ongoing immigration proceedings, which are slated to continue after her release and remain pending despite the bond order and challenges over her removal.
She has planned to address her community and supporters on Tuesday at the Alfred A. Arraj Courthouse in Denver, Colorado.