Former Denver ICE official says immigrant rights activist Jeanette Vizguerra has been asked to leave for years
Despite strong support from advocates and politicians calling for Jeanette Vizguerra's release, John Fabbricatore, a former Denver ICE official, sees it differently.
"She's been convicted of fraudulently using a social security number, driving without a license and lacking insurance," Fabbricatorre told CBS News Colorado. "Being a threat isn't the only issue with illegal immigration."
Fabbricatorre argues those who entered the country illegally should not have the opportunity to make it in the U.S.
"If you enter illegally, there's no pathway to citizenship," Fabbricatorre said.
For Vizguerra, it's been about survival while hoping for a path to legalization. Ordered to be deported under the Obama administration, she instead took sanctuary in a Denver church and rose to fame for her fight to stay. During President Donald Trump's first term, she remained in the church.
Fabbricatore says she once agreed to leave voluntarily, but then backed out.
"She shook my hand on that deal, but instead of showing up at DIA, she hid in a church again," Fabbricatorre explained.
A vocal critic of Trump's immigration policies, Vizguerra has been a key figure in the reform movement.
Tuesday, Fabbricatore posted on X social media, calling her a criminal who "hates Trump," but he insists this case isn't about the president.
"This isn't Trump going after her," Fabbricatorre said. "We've been trying to get her to remove herself since 2009."
Wednesday morning, ICE announced that Jeanette Vizguerra-Ramirez, 53, who is also known as Jeanette Vizguerra in legal documents, was apprehended Monday and is currently in custody while awaiting deportation. According to ICE, a federal immigration judge had issued a final deportation order for her, and her most recent one-year stay of deportation expired in February 2024.
