Prominent Undocumented Mom, Advocate Leaves Sanctuary Church With ICE Deportation Stay

A Mexican mother of four who moved into a Denver church three months ago to dodge deportation left her sanctuary on Friday to chants of “If we fight, we win” after immigration authorities promised she could remain in the United States for two years.

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Jeanette Vizguerra, who came to the United States 20 years ago without authorization and worked as janitor before owning a moving company, was named by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people of 2017 last month after she sought refuge at a church. She has tirelessly advocated for immigrants such as herself.

"It's a special day for me because I will be able to celebrate Mother's Day (on Sunday) with my children and my grandchildren," Vizguerra, 45, said in Spanish at a news conference after leaving the First Baptist Church.

Three of Vizguerra's children were born in the United States. Her oldest daughter, a Mexican national, is an adult who lives in the United States with a work permit under Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, DACA, a federal program for unauthorized migrants who entered the country as children.

“As a mother of three, a community advocate, and a survivor of crime with a pending application for U-Visa status, Jeanette Vizguerra has demonstrated unimaginable courage to fight for her family, for basic due process of law and for fundamental fairness in our immigration system,” her attorney, Hans Meyer said in a statement quoted by local newspaper Denverite.

“Jeanette is a living example of the true American values of courage, integrity and perseverance. I am proud to stand alongside her as we work to secure fairness and humanity in both her U visa immigration case as well as our nation’s immigration laws.”

U.S. Senator Michael Bennet of Colorado introduced legislation in March seeking to shield Vizguerra from deportation. It was a so-called "private bill" applying only to her and not to immigrants in general.

The acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Thomas Homan, notified Congress last week his agency would stop granting stays of deportation in response to lawmakers' private bills. Instead, the agency would only honor such requests from certain key congressional committee leaders.

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Thirty immigrants named in private bills before ICE's revised policy went into effect on May 5 were "grandfathered" in, including Vizguerra, who received a stay of deportation until March 15, 2019, ICE said in a statement.

Vizguerra received five previous stays because she was the victim of an unspecified violent crime and has a pending visa application, according to the law firm representing her.

Immigration authorities rejected Vizguerra's request for a stay of deportation on Feb. 15, leading her to move into First Unitarian Society church. When it underwent renovation, supporters shuttled her to First Baptist.