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Mother Of 4 Defies Deportation Order, Takes Sanctuary In Church

DENVER (CBS4) - A mother of four is defying a deportation order by taking sanctuary at a church in Denver.

Jeanette Vizguerra came to the United States illegally 14 years ago. She declined to meet with immigration officials in Centennial on Wednesday because of fears that she would be deported.

Her Stay of Deportation expired last week. She was concerned that if she met with immigration officials, she would be deported.

Dozens of supporters rallied in Centennial, calling for immigration officials to allow Vizguerra to stay.

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She has taken sanctuary in the First Unitarian Society of Denver church located at 1400 N Lafayette St. in Denver's Capitol Hill neighborhood. She says she has been fighting to stay in this country for the last eight years.

"This is not just an attack on me but an attack on the whole immigrant community," said Vizguerra. "We have to look and see what we're going to do, how we're going to take action to protect ourselves."

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(credit: CBS)

Vizguerra has been convicted of possession of forged documents.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman Shawn Neudauer released this statement to CBS4: "Vizguerra-Ramirez is an ICE enforcement priority. Ms. Vizguerra-Ramirez's request for another Stay of Removal was denied Feb. 15, 2017 by the ICE Denver Field Office."

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