Undocumented Immigrant Remains Holed Up In Colorado Church To Avoid Deportation

DENVER, CO - MAY 05: Undocumented immigrant Jeanette Vizguerra, 45, (R), hugs goodbye to a friend while taking sanctuary at the First Baptist Church on May 5, 2017 in Denver, Colorado. Vizguerra, who has lived in the U.S. for 20 years, took refuge almost three months ago, first at the First Unitarian Society Church, while avoiding a check-in meeting with U.S. Customs and Border Enforcement (ICE), where her stay of deportation was declined. She later clandestinely moved to the Baptist church. Vizguerra has become a leader in the new sanctuary movement, where churches nationwide are housing undocumented immigrants to shield them from deportation. In April Time Magazine named her as one of the 100 most influential people in the United States. Vizguerra came from Mexico as an undocumented immigrant in 1997, working as a janitor and owning a cleaning service while working as a union organizer and immigrant rights activist. She pled to a misdemeanor in 2009 after being caught with forged documents she obtained to get employment. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)