LULAC Condemns Arrest of Immigrant Advocate Jeanette Vizguerra As Abuse of Power

News Americas, New York, NY, March 18, 2025: The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) has strongly condemned the arrest of Jeanette Vizguerra, a well-known immigrant-rights advocate, calling it an outrageous abuse of power.

Quetzal-Huitzilin Laurie Naranjo is questioned by Aurora police after performing an Indigenous ceremony and lighting sage during a protest against ICE’s detention of activist Jeanette Vizguerra. Someone called the fire department about the burning sage, and shortly after, Aurora police arrived, placing Naranjo in the back of a squad car for questioning outside the GEO Aurora ICE Processing Center in Aurora, Colorado, on March 18, 2025. (Photo by RJ Sangosti/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images)

Vizguerra, a longtime activist for immigrant justice, was taken into custody by federal immigration agents outside a Target store in Aurora, Colorado, while on a break from work. Witnesses reported that one agent told her, “We finally got you,” suggesting a politically motivated crackdown.

Aurora police arrive at a protest against ICE’s detention of activist Jeanette Vizguerra outside the GEO Aurora ICE Processing Center in Aurora, Colorado, on March 18, 2025. After the fire department was called about a woman performing an Indigenous ceremony and lighting sage, police placed her in the back of a squad car for questioning. (Photo by RJ Sangosti/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images)

A Mexican citizen, Vizguerra has lived in the United States since 1997, working as a house cleaner and janitor while raising her three American-born children. She became a national figure in 2017 when she sought sanctuary in a Denver church to avoid deportation under the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. While she was later granted temporary relief under the Biden administration, she continued advocating for immigrant families.

LULAC National President Roman Palomares denounced her detention, calling it “an assault on the fundamental rights of every immigrant.” He vowed that LULAC would not be intimidated, stating, “We will fight even harder and stand up to these bullying actions. If we don’t, we will certainly lose our democracy.”

Vizguerra’s arrest is part of a growing effort to silence and criminalize activists who challenge strict immigration policies. LULAC has called on elected officials and the public to demand her immediate release, insisting that the fight for justice must continue.