Outspoken Advocate For Immigrants Faces Deportation

May 16, 2011 11:59 PM

Undocumented Mexican immigrant Jeanette Vizguerra holds her three month old daughter Zury in her family apartment on May 30, 2011 in Aurora. Vizguerra, a mother of three American children, is facing a deportation hearing July 13 at Denver’s Federal Courthouse. Just one of millions of undocumented immigrants living in the United States, Vizguerra first came to Colorado from Mexico City with her husband 14 years before. Now a community activist for immigration rights and a small business owner of a janitorial service, she was stopped by a traffic policemen for driving with expired tags and was taken to jail when she could not prove she was in the country legally. She has been out on bail for two years during lengthy court proceedings, but now faces the real possibility that she will be deported back to Mexico and separated from her family in the United States. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

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DENVER (CBS4) – An Aurora woman who has been an outspoken advocate for immigrants in Colorado is facing deportation. On Monday the support she gave others came back to her.

Surrounded by supporters outside federal court, Jeanette Vizguerra fought back tears. For more than a decade she has been the one leading rallies and helping those in need. She’s a community activist who fights for immigrant rights.

Vizguerra came to Colorado from Mexico City 14 years ago. She has four children, a business that employs 20 people, and a husband who has cancer. Now she faces deportation after she was pulled over by an Aurora police officer.

“He stopped, looked at me and first things out of mouth were, ‘Are you here legally or not?’” Vizguerra said.

She still doesn’t know why she was stopped by the officer, but now it doesn’t matter. All that matters to her now is who will care for her children should she be sent back.

“What happens to them if their father gets sick again? What happens to all the dreams we had in this country?” she said.
space Outspoken Advocate For Immigrants Faces Deportation

But some would ask Vizguerra what she expected when she came here illegally. She said she traded fear of violence in Mexico for fear of deportation. Even now she says it was worth it.

“I’m going to keep fighting for my case, but not only for my case, but all those detained and deported so we can change the system,” Vizguerra said.

Vizguerra was scheduled to have her final deportation hearing Monday, but it was postponed until July.

Outspoken Advocate For Immigrants Faces Deportation

Me

Great! How ironic! Kick her out NOW!!!!!
S

Bye Bye lawbreaker! Don’t come back!!!!!
The Wilk

You have twenty employees. Better check them out too. They’re either already dead (ss#) or here illegally like their leader (activist) Boot her out! She can afford to move all of them back to Mexico! And which mexican sympathizer in the Secretary of State Office gave her a license/
fly4fnbr

Guess you shouldn’t flaunt your illegal status. Advocate my ass. BYEEE
Don

She wants to change the system? So it’s ok to break the law and now she wants to change the system to accomodate her behavior? Get out now and don’t come back EVER!
CJ

14 years, a business with 20 workers, and you have not taken the time to learn any English.
Roma Brandau

14 Years and she’s NOT a LEGAL CITIZEN!!!! What an insult to all the immigrants who do enter our country and follow the laws and learn to speak the language. Send her and her children back to Mexico. If you want to be in America, BECOME A CITIZEN!!! Don’t expect to break the law and then think that we should feel sorry for you! YOU BROKE THE LAW!!!!!!
EH

what a powerful story. what kind of country dehumanizes and criminalizes a mother doing what it takes to feed her family? everyone knows our immigration system is broken. have any of you ever broken a law? i must be ‘illegal’ too since i engaged in underage drinking and drive over the speed limit. wasn’t slavery also legal? so sick of this country exploiting vulnerable populations, enacting foreign policies that give people in other countries no other choice but to try to come to the US for a better life, and then criminalizing them when they do. wake up people, do some research into the realities of our immigration system, how backlogged and expensive it is to become a citizen, and how the US has always changed the laws for whatever’s convenient for us, inviting in cheap labor then deporting them when we have a recession or don’t want them anymore. what would you do to feed your family?? take a second to think before you judge and attack.

Mike

There are ways to come here legally, you don’t have to crawl under the fence to do it. That cheap labor costs the tax payers a lot of money every year. We also don’t know how many are criminals. Personally I think if we are going to get involved with any countries problems, we should start by sending troops to Mexico and force their government to get their act together. If it wasn’t for all the corrution there, there would be no reason for them to come here in the first place.

TJ

Can’t even speak English after 14 years!!!! What a sham this woman is and she is an advocate. Give us a break and send her and the family back to Mexico now.
How old are her kids? We as tax payers probably paid for the birth of some of them, given all of them free health care, free lunches, Medicaid, you name it. And like Wilk mentioned above “which mexican sympathizer in the Secretary of State Office gave her a license?” That person might be an illegal immigrant also in a State government position.
KKK

ship them all back and take back our country from the job stealing system draining illegal immigrants
REAPER

THEY WOULDNT HAVE PUT A HISSY IF THEY ARE NOT HERE ILLEGALY THEY CLAIM THAT MEXICO IS SO WOUNDERFUL THEN GO BACK WHERE YOU CAME FROM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Joey Sanchez

IMMIGRATION REFORM NOW!!! Stop tearing families apart!!!
Number 6

Too bad, so sad; she should have thought about the consequences when she invaded the USA by entering illegally.

Since in 14-years time she hasn’t learned English; that tells me she has no intention of assimilating into American culture; but wants to reap the benefits of being in America.

Deport the parasite ASAP!

@Joey Sanchez. The only immigration reform America needs is to have our laws enforced. I’m so sick of the “Stop tearing families apart” rhetoric as the invaders should have thought about that before coming here illegally.

@EH. Sick of this country are you? So leave, no one is stopping you. Let us know how you like Mexico or whatever third world country you think is so great.
Dale

She’s ugly, too stupid and lazy to learn English, she broke the law, she enables others, and she doesn’t belong here.

Too bad they can’t throw her in jail before throwing her out.

Holofernes Slayer

Sad human you are! She is a brave woman. She has more integrity and valor than you will ever know. May God pity you.

Jared

She broke the law. Period!!! And of course, didn’t bother to learn the English language after 14 years.W hy should she get any special treatment They come over here illegally, refuse to assimilate into the American way of life, first and foremost by learning our language. Then operate a business illegally. Has anyone ver noticed that when go into a Chinese or Mexican restaurant that half the time when you go to pay, they don’t ring up your bill unless you pay for it with a credit card. Most of the tickets are hand written. Why do you suppose that is? How about it’s because they don’t want to pay their taxes, so they hide their income. Check it out next time you go out for dinner. Get rid of this person. It’s not fair to those who are here legally. Why do illegal immigrants deserve any rights? They don’t!!!! Go away!!!!!!!!
Shelly

When I saw this I had to re-wind and make sure that I had heard correct – been her 14 years and she wasn’t talking English —- that is just BS. Send her back!!!!!!

Holofernes Slayer

In France a lot of people know three languages. How many do you know? The U.S. is a country of immigrants. You ancestors were not of this land.

Rick Garcia

IS THERE NO RESPECT FOR THE LAW,,jesus said ,,to obey ceasars law,,she,s the one that seperated her family.. not this country..

Holofernes Slayer

Jesus was an immigrant too, and the Lord said not to oppress the sojourner, the immigrant. Jesus is kind and would be sad a most of the comments on this site.

Leviticus 19:33-34
“When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.

Exodus 22:21
“You shall not wrong a sojourner or oppress him, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt

Taxpayer

Cry me a river!! She wants to milk the system, reap the benefits and still not bother to learn English. She made no effort to become a citizen after 14 years. I guarantee you taxpayers have been paying for her and her families healthcare (amongst other things) all these years. Go back to Mexico!! She’s not an “advocate” she just teaches other illegals how to work the system and avoid being caught.

Holofernes Slayer

Guarantee? Prove it.

Rick Garcia

WELL SAID,with all this talk of tax increases,I wonder what her share would have been,,AMERICA BORROWS 125 BILLION A MONTH,
TL

You have been here 14 years and it never occurred to you to become legal? You had plenty of opportunity. Your being deported cause you don’t have papers to be here! Not because you don’t have a right to be. Get your priorities straight!

Holofernes Slayer

It’s okay not to understand how the immigration law and system works, if you have never encountered it, but you have not right to judge. You dont realize how much money and time it takes to even get a response from USCIS, sometimes people wait up to 20 years only to be rejected. I would suggest for you to open up your mind and become informed before you pass judgement.

Taxpayer

And I now wonder, is her “business” legal? How could it be if she’s an illegal? So has she been running this business under the table and not paying taxes?
Mike

Well, maybe now she can be an outspoken advocate for government reform in her own country so that the illegals won’t need to come here.
Raul

How can you be an advocate and not know english?
Ourwayorthe highway

What bothered me the most about this story was how it was presented by Channel 4 news. Entirely slanted to the liberal left. Poor lady is being deported and she has all these kids here, cry me a fricken river. Her response is that she will work to change OUR system. I am almost speechless, this one story has bothered more than any news story I have seen in years. It is a CRIME to be here illegally, end of story. See what happens when US citizens are caught in Mexico illegally, you would be lucky to find their corpse.

Holofernes Slayer

This is great story. It shows the humanity of people. working hard and contributing to this country. Our immigration system is the most abusive system in this country. It exploits people for the labor and give them no rights to live a decent life. What monsters have American become to not stop injustice?