(CNN) — An undocumented mother and high-profile activist has been detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, her attorney told CNN.
Jeanette Vizguerra made national headlines in recent years as an immigration reform advocate who took refuge in a Denver church. In 2017, she was named one of 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine.
She is being held at a detention facility in Aurora, Colorado, her attorney Laura Lichter told CNN.
Vizguerra was taken into custody by ICE officers Monday outside the Target store where she works as a cashier, family friend Judith Marquez told CNN. Marquez said the activist was taken into custody when she was outside during a work break.
After Vizguerra was detained, she was able to call one of her children to let them know. “Then we stopped hearing from her and have not heard since,” Marquez said.
The American Friends Service Committee denounced Vizguerra’s detainment and described her as a hard-working community member.
“Community organizations across Colorado are calling for the immediate release of Jeanette Vizguerra, a beloved mother, grandmother, and longtime community leader, after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) unjustly detained her without warning Monday and then immediately transferred her to the GEO immigration detention center,” the group said in a statement.
“Jeanette Vizguerra has been a pillar of the community for decades, advocating for immigrant rights and supporting countless families. There was no reason for ICE to take her into custody-her detention is a cruel and unnecessary action that is causing irreparable harm to her family and community.”
Vizguerra has faced deportation in the past, including in 2013, according to a court filing. A judge gave her a reprieve.
Vizguerra came to the United States from Mexico in 1997 with her husband and eldest daughter. She has been living in the US undocumented since and has three American-born children.
Like thousands of immigrants, the family came in search of a better life. Vizguerra’s husband had been kidnapped three times during his work as a bus driver in Mexico City, the family said.
In January, Vizguerra told CNN affiliate KCNC that even long-time residents are at risk.
“Whatever place – I don’t care if it’s a hospital, I don’t care if it’s a school, I don’t care if it’s a church … I don’t care if some people have 40, 50 years here,” Vizguerra told KCNC. “Everybody is at risk.”
This is a developing story and will be updated.
CNN’s Donie O’Sullivan contributed to this report.
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