Jeanette Vizguerra came to America as an immigrant and became an important immigrant rights leader both in Colorado and for the country. Jeanette and her husband left Mexico after he was kidnapped three times in Mexico City. They arrived in the United States in 1997, where they raised their four children. For a time she ran her own moving and cleaning business. Like many immigrants she regularly checked in with government representatives, but they only granted six months to stay in the country each time. She was named one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential Peoplein 2017 and received the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Awardin 2025.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) first pulled over Jeanette for having a dirty license plate on her car in the late 2000s. After facing deportation threats from the government for years due to her lack of permanent status, Jeannette received hopeful news in 2016. She was granted a one year stay versus a six month one, which gave her hope for obtaining a green card.
Her lawyers worked to get her a special type of visa issued to victims of violent crimes during this time, which would allow her to obtain a green card at the end of three years. One year after being granted a year-long stay, the new anti-immigration Trump administration came into office. Jeanette and her family now feared deportation by ICE again. Rather than attend her regularly-scheduled meeting with ICE, she sought sanctuary in the First Unitarian Church in Denver. The practice of seeking protection from authorities in a church goes back to Medieval Europe, but regained public attention in the United States again in the 1960s when people sought refuge to avoid the draft for the Vietnam War. Despite being forced to stay inside the church Jeanette spoke out, which got the attention of local city leaders.
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