An illegal immigrant who garnered media fame during President Trump’s first term by taking up sanctuary inside the basement of a Denver church has been arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Jeanette Vizguerra was detained by officials outside Target, where she was working just outside of Denver.
Jordan Garcia, an immigrant-rights advocate, claims the illegal alien was told by one ICE agent, “We finally got you.”
A timeline put together by the New York Times shows that Vizguerra illegally entered the United States in 1997 and didn’t pop up on law enforcement radar until 2009 when a traffic stop yielded evidence that she had used a fake Social Security card.
She pleaded guilty to “attempted possession of a forged instrument” and spent roughly three weeks in jail. In 2013, she left the country to visit her ailing mother and tried to come across the border in Texas yet again. She was convicted of illegal entry and sentenced to a year of supervised probation.
NEW: ICE confirms to @FoxNews that they arrested Jeanette Vizguerra, a convicted criminal Mexican illegal alien & immigration activist, in Aurora, CO yesterday. ICE confirms she has a final order of removal (deportation order) via a DOJ immigration judge, and has repeatedly had… pic.twitter.com/MwVuUEEGqe
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) March 18, 2025
Vizguerra has had multiple stays of deportation over the years, but it appears that under President Trump’s second term, her time is finally up. That wasn’t the case during Trump’s first term when she was able to hide in the basement of First Unitarian Church in Denver after her sixth stay was denied.
She packed up her kids and headed to the church, claiming to local media that she had been a hard-working person who paid her taxes for years, “a big difference from President Trump.”
It is unclear how she was able to pay taxes with a fake Social Security card without a valid Social Security number attached to it.
RELATED: Boom: Rep. Anna Paulina Luna Referring 4 Sanctuary City Mayors to DOJ for Criminal Investigation
WILD: Denver Mayor Threatens ‘Tiananmen Square Moment’ If Trump Deports Illegal Immigrants
The media was so enamored of her efforts to escape deportation that Time Magazine named her to its 2017 list of the 100 Most Influential People. Emmy award-winning actress America Ferrera wrote a blurb entry honoring her.
“The Vizguerra family lived in terror of being ripped apart by deportation,” Ferrera complained.
“The current Administration has scapegoated immigrants, scaring Americans into believing that undocumented people like Jeanette are criminals,” she continued. “She came to this country not to rape, murder or sell drugs, but to create a better life for her family. She shed blood, sweat and tears to become a business owner, striving to give her children more opportunities than she had.”
“This is not a crime. This is the American Dream.”
Denver Mayor Mike Johnston cries about Jeanette Vizguerra getting arrested by ICE in Aurora, CO—claims she’s just a mom with no criminal record.
Nothing can be farther from the truth.
Jeanette is in our country illegally, had multiple ICE detainer requests lodged, was convicted… pic.twitter.com/mTqBFRkml5
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) March 18, 2025
Denver Mayor Mike Johnston slammed ICE for detaining Vizguerra, calling it a “Putin-style persecution of political dissidents.”
“We don’t see this as immigration enforcement,” he claimed in an interview with the Times. “This is about targeting political opponents and using the force of your government to punish them.”
“This is not someone with a criminal record,” he claimed, completely ignoring her aforementioned criminal record.
Johnston seems to be confused, having now compared the enforcement of federal immigration law to some sort of dictatorial action. He previously insisted he would defend illegals in his city, comparing such a move to Tiananmen Square.
Earlier this month, Johnston was one of four sanctuary city mayors referred to the Department of Justice for “aiding and abetting” illegal immigrants by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL).
Vizguerra’s attorney says her client is being held at a detention facility in Aurora, Colorado. She faces potential deportation back to Mexico.
Thanks to President Trump, illegal immigration into our great country has virtually stopped. Despite the radical left’s lies, new legislation wasn’t needed to secure our border, just a new president.
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