1 00:00:01,400 --> 00:00:05,200 Speaker 1: One summer afternoon in twenty seventeen, Maddy was driving down 2 00:00:05,240 --> 00:00:08,840 Speaker 1: the main highway into her small town. And that's all 3 00:00:08,880 --> 00:00:11,280 Speaker 1: we're going to tell you about where she lives, because 4 00:00:11,560 --> 00:00:12,719 Speaker 1: we're trying to protect her. 5 00:00:13,200 --> 00:00:16,200 Speaker 2: I was looking at the mountains, the landscape. 6 00:00:16,680 --> 00:00:19,919 Speaker 1: Even after living in this small town for thirty years, 7 00:00:20,000 --> 00:00:22,320 Speaker 1: she still admired the views. 8 00:00:22,360 --> 00:00:26,200 Speaker 2: Just that sense of physical freedom, being able to see 9 00:00:26,239 --> 00:00:27,200 Speaker 2: all this beauty. 10 00:00:27,640 --> 00:00:30,400 Speaker 1: She'd made the drive hundreds of times to attend her 11 00:00:30,440 --> 00:00:34,360 Speaker 1: local church or to sell her well known homemade damalis, 12 00:00:35,000 --> 00:00:37,839 Speaker 1: but this time the drive felt different. 13 00:00:40,000 --> 00:00:43,519 Speaker 2: I was afraid. I was really really afraid. What if 14 00:00:43,560 --> 00:00:47,920 Speaker 2: they were following me? I got just into thispanic mode. 15 00:00:48,000 --> 00:00:50,440 Speaker 2: What if they're are seeing what am I doing? Seeing 16 00:00:50,479 --> 00:00:51,559 Speaker 2: what am I packing up? 17 00:00:52,240 --> 00:00:56,000 Speaker 1: Maddy had her clothes packed in suitcases and boxes inside 18 00:00:56,040 --> 00:00:59,480 Speaker 1: the car because she was on her way to move 19 00:00:59,760 --> 00:01:04,280 Speaker 1: in to a church to live on the church grounds 20 00:01:04,319 --> 00:01:08,560 Speaker 1: in order to avoid an imminent order of deportation. Mighty 21 00:01:08,720 --> 00:01:11,840 Speaker 1: was one of almost fifty people, mostly women, who took 22 00:01:11,959 --> 00:01:16,160 Speaker 1: refuge inside churches across the United States during the first 23 00:01:16,440 --> 00:01:17,440 Speaker 1: Trump administration. 24 00:01:18,400 --> 00:01:21,720 Speaker 3: Houses of worship are stepping up to offer sanctuary to 25 00:01:22,040 --> 00:01:26,160 Speaker 3: undocumented immigrants. The force behind this effort is the fear 26 00:01:26,200 --> 00:01:29,440 Speaker 3: of deportation in light of President Trump's executive orders. 27 00:01:29,800 --> 00:01:33,000 Speaker 1: They were part of what's known as the second wave 28 00:01:33,200 --> 00:01:37,120 Speaker 1: of the sanctuary movement, which was revived in twenty fourteen. 29 00:01:37,800 --> 00:01:40,680 Speaker 1: It's a movement that started in the nineteen eighties when 30 00:01:40,680 --> 00:01:44,840 Speaker 1: places of worship provided shelter for Central American migrants fleeing 31 00:01:44,920 --> 00:01:48,160 Speaker 1: civil wars, and all of this was inspired by the 32 00:01:48,280 --> 00:01:49,440 Speaker 1: underground Railroad. 33 00:01:50,040 --> 00:01:53,840 Speaker 4: It is the concept of religious sanctuary churches giving refuge 34 00:01:53,840 --> 00:01:58,280 Speaker 4: to undocumented Salvadorans and Guahamalans, two hundred and seventy churches 35 00:01:58,320 --> 00:02:01,360 Speaker 4: in thirty three states using an underground network. 36 00:02:01,480 --> 00:02:05,120 Speaker 1: Now, the church couldn't offer mighty absolute safety from deportation 37 00:02:05,240 --> 00:02:09,400 Speaker 1: in twenty seventeen, but back then there was internal guidance 38 00:02:09,400 --> 00:02:13,720 Speaker 1: from the Obama administration that essentially told ICE agents, Hey, 39 00:02:13,960 --> 00:02:17,640 Speaker 1: you should not be going inside schools or hospitals or 40 00:02:17,680 --> 00:02:23,640 Speaker 1: places of worship. The directive called these places sensitive locations 41 00:02:23,680 --> 00:02:27,920 Speaker 1: and that they should be avoided unless absolutely necessary in 42 00:02:27,960 --> 00:02:32,920 Speaker 1: a matter of national security. Knowing this, Madi and others 43 00:02:32,919 --> 00:02:36,079 Speaker 1: across the country made the choice to seek refuge by 44 00:02:36,120 --> 00:02:38,720 Speaker 1: living inside the church grounds. 45 00:02:39,240 --> 00:02:42,040 Speaker 2: I was spraying about the right decision. 46 00:02:45,000 --> 00:02:48,480 Speaker 1: The minute she arrived at the church in twenty seventeen. 47 00:02:49,160 --> 00:02:51,840 Speaker 2: I just had the tension every day from people in 48 00:02:51,880 --> 00:02:55,440 Speaker 2: the community. Different news stations all over the country were 49 00:02:55,480 --> 00:02:57,000 Speaker 2: coming every day. 50 00:02:57,400 --> 00:03:02,000 Speaker 1: And almost every night, someone from the country would volunteer 51 00:03:02,160 --> 00:03:05,960 Speaker 1: to spend the night on a mattress, sleeping next to 52 00:03:06,000 --> 00:03:06,440 Speaker 1: the door. 53 00:03:07,240 --> 00:03:11,120 Speaker 2: I was always feeling safe during. 54 00:03:10,840 --> 00:03:14,440 Speaker 1: The Biden administration, like many others who had taken sanctuary, 55 00:03:14,760 --> 00:03:19,239 Speaker 1: Madi eventually moved out of the church. Her legal status 56 00:03:19,400 --> 00:03:22,880 Speaker 1: hadn't really changed, but it seemed like she was no 57 00:03:22,960 --> 00:03:27,680 Speaker 1: longer a priority for deportation. But on day one of 58 00:03:27,720 --> 00:03:33,600 Speaker 1: the second Trump administration, that sense of safety disappeared. The 59 00:03:33,680 --> 00:03:37,040 Speaker 1: new order from President Donald Trump reversus a policy that 60 00:03:37,160 --> 00:03:40,360 Speaker 1: barred ICE agents for making arrests and what are considered 61 00:03:40,400 --> 00:03:42,120 Speaker 1: to be sensitive areas. 62 00:03:42,080 --> 00:03:45,720 Speaker 5: And that means immigration officials can now target undocumented immigrants 63 00:03:45,720 --> 00:03:46,360 Speaker 5: in churches. 64 00:03:47,040 --> 00:03:49,480 Speaker 2: Every time I have to step out, I just pray. 65 00:03:50,160 --> 00:03:53,720 Speaker 2: I'm like telling myself to be watchful and alert. I'm 66 00:03:54,040 --> 00:03:58,760 Speaker 2: constantly alert, but always afraid. I barely go anywhere. 67 00:03:59,520 --> 00:04:03,440 Speaker 1: And here is what made her fear even worse. The 68 00:04:03,480 --> 00:04:06,600 Speaker 1: Trump administration has made it clear that it will seek 69 00:04:06,760 --> 00:04:13,000 Speaker 1: outright revenge against anyone who has defied his authority. Maddy 70 00:04:13,240 --> 00:04:17,279 Speaker 1: knows this because she's seen how the government targeted another woman. 71 00:04:17,600 --> 00:04:20,840 Speaker 1: The most visible face of the sanctuary movement in the 72 00:04:21,000 --> 00:04:22,360 Speaker 1: entire country. 73 00:04:22,240 --> 00:04:25,200 Speaker 5: A Denver woman who's font de importation for decades, is 74 00:04:25,200 --> 00:04:28,600 Speaker 5: then the custody of immigration and customs enforcements in Aurora. 75 00:04:28,760 --> 00:04:32,039 Speaker 1: Jeanetteiscertta is an activist for immigration rights, and back in 76 00:04:32,080 --> 00:04:35,479 Speaker 1: twenty seventeen, she was recognized as one of Time Magazine's 77 00:04:35,520 --> 00:04:37,240 Speaker 1: one hundred most Influential People. 78 00:04:37,880 --> 00:04:41,240 Speaker 2: I heard about Janet that same night at midnight. I 79 00:04:41,320 --> 00:04:43,560 Speaker 2: was getting ready to go to sleep, and then I 80 00:04:43,640 --> 00:04:46,000 Speaker 2: watched the news and I was like, oh my god, 81 00:04:46,080 --> 00:04:49,640 Speaker 2: this is so scary. I mean, you start feeling like 82 00:04:49,800 --> 00:04:52,960 Speaker 2: they are watching you, like they are looking for you. 83 00:04:53,680 --> 00:04:57,320 Speaker 2: I couldn't even sleep that night. I was remaining locked 84 00:04:57,360 --> 00:04:58,760 Speaker 2: in my place a whole week. 85 00:05:00,000 --> 00:05:04,359 Speaker 1: He lives in constant vigilance. In fact, you should know 86 00:05:04,839 --> 00:05:07,960 Speaker 1: Madi is not her real name, and the voice you're 87 00:05:07,960 --> 00:05:13,440 Speaker 1: hearing is someone recreating Madi's recorded interview word for word. 88 00:05:14,120 --> 00:05:17,640 Speaker 1: Madi has a very real fear of being deported. 89 00:05:18,160 --> 00:05:21,279 Speaker 2: I feel trapped, like I've been cornered. 90 00:05:26,520 --> 00:05:30,320 Speaker 1: From Futuro Media and PRX It's Latino USA. I'm Maria 91 00:05:30,400 --> 00:05:35,680 Speaker 1: Jossaan on today's episode, an exclusive interview with Janette Visguerra, 92 00:05:36,200 --> 00:05:40,440 Speaker 1: the activist once named one of Time one hundred's most 93 00:05:40,640 --> 00:05:45,239 Speaker 1: influential people. We hear from her inside the immigration detention 94 00:05:45,400 --> 00:05:49,240 Speaker 1: facility where she is being held. Plus, we're going to 95 00:05:49,320 --> 00:05:53,000 Speaker 1: take a look at the sanctuary movement today. What happens 96 00:05:53,040 --> 00:05:56,760 Speaker 1: when undocumented people who once put themselves in the public 97 00:05:56,920 --> 00:06:01,880 Speaker 1: eye in order to avoid deportation are fearing revenge from 98 00:06:01,960 --> 00:06:03,040 Speaker 1: the Trump administration. 99 00:06:07,440 --> 00:06:09,200 Speaker 6: I'd just like to pray for the people in our 100 00:06:09,240 --> 00:06:15,080 Speaker 6: community when are saying people in the darkness and no one. 101 00:06:13,080 --> 00:06:13,479 Speaker 7: Has to play. 102 00:06:14,040 --> 00:06:18,760 Speaker 1: It's a Sunday afternoon in North Philly. Mass is wrapping 103 00:06:18,880 --> 00:06:24,039 Speaker 1: up at Kensington Ministries and community members are passing around 104 00:06:24,080 --> 00:06:28,240 Speaker 1: the mic. It's a small group, but it's a classic 105 00:06:28,360 --> 00:06:31,880 Speaker 1: scene in one of the most diverse neighborhoods in the city. 106 00:06:32,320 --> 00:06:37,680 Speaker 1: The parishioners are black, Latinos and Latinas. Reverend Adan Marina 107 00:06:38,120 --> 00:06:40,839 Speaker 1: is sitting at the front of the room. He's listening 108 00:06:40,880 --> 00:06:42,760 Speaker 1: to the members of his congregation. 109 00:06:43,680 --> 00:06:44,640 Speaker 8: That's prayer. 110 00:06:46,839 --> 00:06:49,880 Speaker 6: From world people who are free. 111 00:06:51,279 --> 00:06:54,119 Speaker 1: He's a staple in this community, the kind of guy 112 00:06:54,520 --> 00:06:57,160 Speaker 1: who knows what's going on with everyone. 113 00:07:04,880 --> 00:07:09,680 Speaker 6: I've got folks named demm. 114 00:07:09,920 --> 00:07:13,320 Speaker 1: His church is in the heart of Philadelphia, the city 115 00:07:13,480 --> 00:07:17,080 Speaker 1: that under the first Trump administration saw more people take 116 00:07:17,160 --> 00:07:22,360 Speaker 1: sanctuary in churches than any other major US city. But 117 00:07:22,440 --> 00:07:24,320 Speaker 1: today things look different. 118 00:07:24,920 --> 00:07:27,600 Speaker 6: I'm worried about folks here that I know. You know, 119 00:07:27,640 --> 00:07:30,680 Speaker 6: I have a young couple from Venezuela. I haven't seen 120 00:07:30,720 --> 00:07:35,200 Speaker 6: them since the deportations started under this administration. I have 121 00:07:35,240 --> 00:07:38,480 Speaker 6: one young lady who I think last week was the 122 00:07:38,520 --> 00:07:41,280 Speaker 6: first time I'd seen her in three months. In her neighborhood, 123 00:07:41,760 --> 00:07:43,880 Speaker 6: the raids were taking place, so she told me she 124 00:07:43,920 --> 00:07:47,520 Speaker 6: was in her apartment and hiding for three months, couldn't leave, 125 00:07:47,600 --> 00:07:49,720 Speaker 6: didn't want to leave because folks were getting arrested. 126 00:07:51,320 --> 00:07:55,360 Speaker 1: This is something Reverend Avan has heard before. Back during 127 00:07:55,400 --> 00:07:59,000 Speaker 1: the Obama administration, Reverend Avan got a call to open 128 00:07:59,040 --> 00:08:01,960 Speaker 1: the doors of his parents to a local Hunduran mother 129 00:08:02,360 --> 00:08:04,800 Speaker 1: who was at imminent risk of deportation. 130 00:08:05,560 --> 00:08:08,800 Speaker 6: I got the call, and I knew from the get go, right, 131 00:08:08,840 --> 00:08:11,360 Speaker 6: this is where you have to practice what you preach. 132 00:08:11,720 --> 00:08:13,840 Speaker 6: This is where your faith is acted upon. 133 00:08:14,480 --> 00:08:17,920 Speaker 1: He's also Hunduran and his parents fled the country seeking 134 00:08:18,000 --> 00:08:19,720 Speaker 1: safety from political persecution. 135 00:08:20,480 --> 00:08:22,680 Speaker 6: This is my story in a sense. So how could 136 00:08:22,680 --> 00:08:24,000 Speaker 6: I have said no? I would have said no, I'd 137 00:08:24,000 --> 00:08:25,760 Speaker 6: have felt like a hypocrite. I would have felt like 138 00:08:25,760 --> 00:08:26,200 Speaker 6: a liar. 139 00:08:27,160 --> 00:08:31,880 Speaker 1: Reverend Adan has protested immigration policies of every single administration 140 00:08:32,080 --> 00:08:35,800 Speaker 1: over the last two decades, and he sees Trump's policies 141 00:08:36,160 --> 00:08:40,240 Speaker 1: as a new chapter in an old story. But this 142 00:08:40,400 --> 00:08:44,040 Speaker 1: time it is different. Now, he says, getting that call 143 00:08:44,320 --> 00:08:46,240 Speaker 1: could be much more complicated. 144 00:08:47,000 --> 00:08:50,200 Speaker 6: It's more dangerous now. You can be targeted, you can 145 00:08:50,280 --> 00:08:52,559 Speaker 6: have crosshairs on your chest or your building. 146 00:08:53,120 --> 00:08:56,520 Speaker 1: Still, he says, being a person of faith means caring 147 00:08:56,559 --> 00:08:59,800 Speaker 1: for others, even when he compose a risk. 148 00:09:00,240 --> 00:09:01,920 Speaker 6: If folks come knock on the door, what are we 149 00:09:01,920 --> 00:09:03,440 Speaker 6: going to say, now, No, I can't because of our 150 00:09:03,480 --> 00:09:07,400 Speaker 6: nonprofit status. Oh no, I can't because they're breaking the law. 151 00:09:08,160 --> 00:09:10,080 Speaker 6: Like if you're going to be in a church and 152 00:09:10,120 --> 00:09:14,200 Speaker 6: you're going to practice love and you're not willing to 153 00:09:14,240 --> 00:09:17,800 Speaker 6: provide sanctuary, then we're missing the mark. 154 00:09:19,160 --> 00:09:23,360 Speaker 1: The sanctuary movement of the past often received criticism around 155 00:09:23,440 --> 00:09:29,360 Speaker 1: the complicated racial dynamics of white, wealthy congregations who while 156 00:09:29,440 --> 00:09:34,200 Speaker 1: well meaning, would fall into patterns of paternalism as they 157 00:09:34,200 --> 00:09:39,199 Speaker 1: attempted to publicly support undocumented immigrants living in their churches. 158 00:09:39,960 --> 00:09:44,600 Speaker 1: But riverd Avan says that this new reality is less 159 00:09:44,640 --> 00:09:48,600 Speaker 1: about being a public ally and more about being a 160 00:09:48,760 --> 00:09:50,240 Speaker 1: quiet accomplice. 161 00:09:50,920 --> 00:09:53,600 Speaker 6: I mean, this is really where folks who are talking 162 00:09:53,600 --> 00:09:56,880 Speaker 6: to talk and have the resources. This is where the 163 00:09:56,920 --> 00:09:59,959 Speaker 6: rubber hits the road as a pastor, as a Christian 164 00:10:00,000 --> 00:10:03,480 Speaker 6: and it's well, which law do we adhere? More human 165 00:10:03,600 --> 00:10:07,520 Speaker 6: law divine law? If there's a system that is unjust, 166 00:10:08,400 --> 00:10:09,839 Speaker 6: we're held accountable. 167 00:10:09,360 --> 00:10:10,080 Speaker 2: To a higher law. 168 00:10:18,160 --> 00:10:22,240 Speaker 1: Reverend Adan says he's heard some cases of citizens quietly 169 00:10:22,320 --> 00:10:27,599 Speaker 1: opening their doors to undocumented immigrants seeking safety and sanctuary. 170 00:10:27,640 --> 00:10:31,480 Speaker 1: Leaders across the country say that now what they're doing 171 00:10:32,000 --> 00:10:37,720 Speaker 1: is building sanctuary in the streets, challenging ICE through direct action. 172 00:10:38,480 --> 00:10:41,520 Speaker 1: Activists are showing up to ICE rates to try to 173 00:10:41,559 --> 00:10:46,640 Speaker 1: physically stop people from being detained. Sometimes groups bring megaphones 174 00:10:46,880 --> 00:10:49,360 Speaker 1: in order to advise people on what to say from 175 00:10:49,480 --> 00:10:53,360 Speaker 1: inside their homes while ICE is at their front door. 176 00:11:00,280 --> 00:11:02,760 Speaker 1: And while Marii is glad to see this type of 177 00:11:02,800 --> 00:11:06,120 Speaker 1: response from the community, she will continue to stay as 178 00:11:06,280 --> 00:11:10,079 Speaker 1: under the radar as possible. Even going to the grocery 179 00:11:10,120 --> 00:11:13,760 Speaker 1: store makes her anxious these days, but her faith, she says, 180 00:11:14,200 --> 00:11:16,200 Speaker 1: is what helps her santari. 181 00:11:16,320 --> 00:11:21,640 Speaker 2: For me right now, it's myself. I always repeat that 182 00:11:22,520 --> 00:11:26,280 Speaker 2: I am my own sancturary. Now I have to find 183 00:11:26,360 --> 00:11:29,920 Speaker 2: ways to do that, to be my own santary. 184 00:11:40,720 --> 00:11:44,400 Speaker 1: While most people who took sanctuary in churches slipped back 185 00:11:44,559 --> 00:11:47,760 Speaker 1: under the radar, the well known sanctuary leader who we 186 00:11:47,840 --> 00:11:52,040 Speaker 1: mentioned earlier did not. In fact, she doubled down. And 187 00:11:52,120 --> 00:11:54,720 Speaker 1: even though Jeanette Visgertra was named as one of Time 188 00:11:54,760 --> 00:12:00,160 Speaker 1: one hundred's most influential people in twenty seventeen, today she 189 00:12:00,280 --> 00:12:04,199 Speaker 1: is not free. She's being held in an immigrant detention facility. 190 00:12:05,200 --> 00:12:08,520 Speaker 1: Coming up next I go inside that detention camp to 191 00:12:08,559 --> 00:12:12,359 Speaker 1: speak with her exclusively. We'll be right back, non Devyes, 192 00:12:35,040 --> 00:12:39,920 Speaker 1: welcome back to Latino, USA. I'm Maria no Josa. Jeanette 193 00:12:39,960 --> 00:12:43,360 Speaker 1: Vizguerra is a well known name across the immigrant rights 194 00:12:43,400 --> 00:12:46,600 Speaker 1: movement in the United States. She was in the news 195 00:12:46,760 --> 00:12:49,800 Speaker 1: a lot, especially around twenty seventeen. 196 00:12:50,200 --> 00:12:53,200 Speaker 5: Jeanetteasguerra, who came to the US from Mexico about twenty 197 00:12:53,320 --> 00:12:57,000 Speaker 5: years ago. She has been living here undocumented ever since 198 00:12:57,200 --> 00:12:59,000 Speaker 5: and has three American born children. 199 00:12:59,160 --> 00:13:03,200 Speaker 7: I spoke with Jeanette Fiscata, a mother of four children 200 00:13:03,360 --> 00:13:07,000 Speaker 7: who's taken refuge in the First Unitarian Society Church of 201 00:13:07,080 --> 00:13:10,240 Speaker 7: Denver out of fear she would be arrested and deported 202 00:13:10,240 --> 00:13:10,880 Speaker 7: to Mexico. 203 00:13:11,000 --> 00:13:14,720 Speaker 5: A Colorado mom, an immigration rights activist, has been named 204 00:13:14,720 --> 00:13:17,520 Speaker 5: to Times one hundred most Influential People in. 205 00:13:17,520 --> 00:13:22,840 Speaker 1: The World Today, eight years after being recognized by Time magazine, 206 00:13:23,240 --> 00:13:27,000 Speaker 1: She's being held at an immigrant detention facility. Are we 207 00:13:27,080 --> 00:13:28,880 Speaker 1: close gonna make it work? 208 00:13:28,920 --> 00:13:29,120 Speaker 7: Here? 209 00:13:29,600 --> 00:13:33,000 Speaker 1: This is the detention facility? Well, the most surprising thing 210 00:13:33,040 --> 00:13:35,760 Speaker 1: about this detention facility is that it's not in the 211 00:13:35,760 --> 00:13:41,080 Speaker 1: middle of nowhere. We're in Aurora, Colorado, and our team 212 00:13:41,240 --> 00:13:46,320 Speaker 1: is going into the Aurora Ice Processing Center with cameras 213 00:13:46,760 --> 00:13:49,400 Speaker 1: in order to speak with Jeanette for an exclusive in 214 00:13:49,520 --> 00:13:53,200 Speaker 1: person interview. She's been held here for two months now. 215 00:13:53,720 --> 00:13:58,920 Speaker 1: We were strictly prohibited from recording audio or video inside 216 00:13:59,040 --> 00:14:03,000 Speaker 1: of the sprawling, fifteen hundred person detention camp, and we're 217 00:14:03,080 --> 00:14:12,280 Speaker 1: only allowed to record inside the room with Jeannette. We 218 00:14:12,480 --> 00:14:15,440 Speaker 1: set up in a small room they gave us to record. 219 00:14:15,840 --> 00:14:19,240 Speaker 1: A few minutes later, Jeanette walks in and we start 220 00:14:19,240 --> 00:14:20,000 Speaker 1: to speak. 221 00:14:19,760 --> 00:14:22,600 Speaker 9: Toya no, it's for Marbella and Trebristo esmos. 222 00:14:24,360 --> 00:14:27,200 Speaker 1: Right away, Jeanette tells me what it has been like 223 00:14:27,320 --> 00:14:29,800 Speaker 1: to be detained here since March. 224 00:14:30,480 --> 00:14:35,480 Speaker 9: Dona queriando la vacteries to mac muchas Molestias, the lord 225 00:14:35,520 --> 00:14:36,800 Speaker 9: abdominal in fram. 226 00:14:37,480 --> 00:14:40,240 Speaker 1: She starts by telling me that she thinks that because 227 00:14:40,240 --> 00:14:44,840 Speaker 1: of the unsanitary conditions inside of this detention facility, there 228 00:14:44,840 --> 00:14:48,880 Speaker 1: are many people, including herself, who are having severe stomach problems. 229 00:14:49,400 --> 00:14:55,680 Speaker 1: Then she says nothing has changed, nada cambia. This is 230 00:14:55,720 --> 00:14:58,640 Speaker 1: not the first time that Jeanette has been detained here. 231 00:14:59,360 --> 00:15:04,040 Speaker 1: This veteral immigration detention facility is privately run by the 232 00:15:04,160 --> 00:15:07,960 Speaker 1: Geo Group, one of the largest private prison companies in 233 00:15:08,000 --> 00:15:11,320 Speaker 1: the country. Janette has been in the United States without 234 00:15:11,320 --> 00:15:15,200 Speaker 1: papers since nineteen ninety seven, and it wasn't until two 235 00:15:15,200 --> 00:15:19,360 Speaker 1: thousand and nine during a traffic stop that her issue 236 00:15:19,360 --> 00:15:23,520 Speaker 1: of status came up. To make a long story short, 237 00:15:23,720 --> 00:15:28,360 Speaker 1: Janette has tried unsuccessfully to get legal permanent status in 238 00:15:28,400 --> 00:15:31,720 Speaker 1: the United States for well over a decade, and she's 239 00:15:31,760 --> 00:15:34,280 Speaker 1: done so in the public eye as a way to 240 00:15:34,320 --> 00:15:37,840 Speaker 1: demand justice and to raise awareness about the millions of 241 00:15:37,920 --> 00:15:42,880 Speaker 1: undocumented people in similar situations. That's why, when the election 242 00:15:43,000 --> 00:15:46,200 Speaker 1: results showed there would be a second Trump term, her 243 00:15:46,240 --> 00:15:50,280 Speaker 1: friends and even her colleagues told her to stay quiet, 244 00:15:50,960 --> 00:15:51,800 Speaker 1: to be careful. 245 00:15:52,400 --> 00:16:02,800 Speaker 9: Guihati Kayada, Coolera, Siamigos, Mehlbertierro, Jeanett basan Nessitaistarkajada, Nagajuillo. 246 00:16:02,520 --> 00:16:08,000 Speaker 1: Because they said they're going to come after you. And 247 00:16:08,560 --> 00:16:11,640 Speaker 1: when Trump signed an executive order on the very first 248 00:16:11,720 --> 00:16:16,040 Speaker 1: day of his second term rolling back the internal Ice 249 00:16:16,240 --> 00:16:22,680 Speaker 1: memo that protected those sensitive locations, the media started contacting 250 00:16:22,800 --> 00:16:23,560 Speaker 1: Jeannette as. 251 00:16:23,480 --> 00:16:28,720 Speaker 8: Well, Trump ending arrest protections for immigrants and sensitive places. 252 00:16:28,840 --> 00:16:31,560 Speaker 8: This reminded me of a story we covered for years 253 00:16:31,640 --> 00:16:35,160 Speaker 8: here on Denver seven, the story of Jeanette Visgera, who 254 00:16:35,240 --> 00:16:38,880 Speaker 8: left Mexico, came to Colorado and spent almost three years 255 00:16:39,040 --> 00:16:42,920 Speaker 8: on and off in a church sinking sanctuary. I called 256 00:16:43,000 --> 00:16:46,280 Speaker 8: Viscareta day about asking her her reactions to Trump's plan. 257 00:16:46,520 --> 00:16:51,520 Speaker 9: This is that time they organizing for go together, fight 258 00:16:51,800 --> 00:16:55,440 Speaker 9: all cheers. I'm living here. I paid Texas, Donald Trump 259 00:16:55,520 --> 00:16:59,800 Speaker 9: not paid Texas. Trump have twenty four fellowists. Who is 260 00:16:59,840 --> 00:17:00,880 Speaker 9: the real criminal? 261 00:17:02,080 --> 00:17:04,399 Speaker 8: Scara says right now, she's focused on creating a network 262 00:17:04,440 --> 00:17:07,720 Speaker 8: of undisclosed safe places for undocumented immigrants. 263 00:17:08,080 --> 00:17:12,159 Speaker 1: You were asking yourself lago or nolago? Do I speak 264 00:17:12,160 --> 00:17:14,359 Speaker 1: out or do I not speak out? After Trump had 265 00:17:14,440 --> 00:17:14,679 Speaker 1: been re. 266 00:17:14,760 --> 00:17:22,040 Speaker 9: Elected, YAO come feeling de algol ambiente. 267 00:17:22,680 --> 00:17:26,160 Speaker 1: She had an intuition that there was something in the air. 268 00:17:26,600 --> 00:17:29,440 Speaker 9: Comes intuition the calgo pasa. 269 00:17:29,680 --> 00:17:31,720 Speaker 1: That's something was going to happen. 270 00:17:31,520 --> 00:17:37,800 Speaker 9: To her pedodesposa primero perativo di no ploya peto. 271 00:17:39,560 --> 00:17:43,800 Speaker 1: Janette knew she could be at risk, but staying silent, 272 00:17:43,920 --> 00:17:45,840 Speaker 1: she says, it just wasn't an option. 273 00:17:49,440 --> 00:17:56,760 Speaker 9: We arena marchant el domingostaran don the joisun jamada la communidad. 274 00:17:57,320 --> 00:18:02,040 Speaker 1: On Sunday, March sixteenth, went to a rally and got 275 00:18:02,119 --> 00:18:06,440 Speaker 1: on the megaphone. We are going to need new tactics 276 00:18:06,560 --> 00:18:09,520 Speaker 1: in order to be able to protect the immigrant community. 277 00:18:14,480 --> 00:18:18,119 Speaker 1: How many days after you made that speech on that 278 00:18:18,320 --> 00:18:24,240 Speaker 1: Sunday saying they are escalating, we have to escalate too 279 00:18:24,560 --> 00:18:28,840 Speaker 1: as activists. How many days after that were you detained. 280 00:18:28,840 --> 00:18:29,639 Speaker 9: El Yes again? 281 00:18:30,280 --> 00:18:36,320 Speaker 1: The very next day, on March seventeenth, twenty twenty five, 282 00:18:36,600 --> 00:18:40,240 Speaker 1: Janette was at work at a local target. She walked 283 00:18:40,280 --> 00:18:43,040 Speaker 1: out into the parking lot on her break, and it 284 00:18:43,200 --> 00:18:46,240 Speaker 1: was there that she was detained by ICE agents. She 285 00:18:46,320 --> 00:18:49,199 Speaker 1: says that while she was being detained, she looked at 286 00:18:49,240 --> 00:18:52,560 Speaker 1: one of the agent's phones and she noticed that the 287 00:18:52,640 --> 00:18:56,400 Speaker 1: person had been looking at Jeanette's social media accounts. 288 00:18:56,680 --> 00:19:00,920 Speaker 9: Yoletich Is does Monitorian de Mirelis, says Publico. 289 00:19:01,640 --> 00:19:05,640 Speaker 1: According to Jeanette, while the officials were detaining her, one 290 00:19:05,720 --> 00:19:08,560 Speaker 1: of them said, finally we got you. 291 00:19:09,400 --> 00:19:12,919 Speaker 9: I respondio otro perfindetre. 292 00:19:12,359 --> 00:19:16,760 Speaker 1: Brons and here's something that doesn't happen with every arrest. 293 00:19:17,600 --> 00:19:22,520 Speaker 1: That same day, the Denver Ice office announced Jeanette's detention 294 00:19:23,040 --> 00:19:26,359 Speaker 1: on Twitter by posting a picture of her in handcuffs 295 00:19:26,720 --> 00:19:31,960 Speaker 1: with a chain wrapped around her waist. Then, two days later, 296 00:19:32,560 --> 00:19:36,080 Speaker 1: the top communications advisor to the Secretary of Homeland Security, 297 00:19:36,200 --> 00:19:41,880 Speaker 1: Christy Nome, tweeted this message. It said, Jeanette Risque ramp 298 00:19:42,040 --> 00:19:46,200 Speaker 1: is a convicted criminal alien from Mexico. Under President Trump 299 00:19:46,280 --> 00:19:50,359 Speaker 1: and Secretary Nome, we are once again a nation of laws. 300 00:19:50,760 --> 00:19:55,520 Speaker 1: We will find, arrest and deport illegal aliens, regardless of 301 00:19:55,680 --> 00:19:59,280 Speaker 1: if they were a featured Time Person of the Year. 302 00:20:05,080 --> 00:20:10,360 Speaker 1: Do you believe, Jeannette that you specifically, are being targeted 303 00:20:11,240 --> 00:20:19,119 Speaker 1: because of your activism, because you speak out. So I 304 00:20:19,600 --> 00:20:25,240 Speaker 1: am a political prisoner, she says, I'm a political prisoner. 305 00:20:26,280 --> 00:20:28,280 Speaker 1: I have to sit with that for a moment because 306 00:20:29,040 --> 00:20:31,800 Speaker 1: in all of my decades of reporting on this issue, 307 00:20:32,440 --> 00:20:35,040 Speaker 1: this is the first time I've ever heard someone say 308 00:20:35,119 --> 00:20:40,440 Speaker 1: this from inside an immigrant detention facility. And it's not 309 00:20:40,960 --> 00:20:43,119 Speaker 1: just about Jeanette, she tells me. 310 00:20:43,880 --> 00:20:46,480 Speaker 9: Don Carindoka, yessus doan cariando. 311 00:20:48,280 --> 00:20:51,240 Speaker 1: She says, they're trying to silence all people who speak 312 00:20:51,280 --> 00:20:54,840 Speaker 1: up against the government. She says, they are trying to 313 00:20:55,240 --> 00:20:56,040 Speaker 1: erase us. 314 00:21:00,280 --> 00:21:05,159 Speaker 9: No important on the US story and Brando rebel Chiliberte. 315 00:21:05,680 --> 00:21:09,360 Speaker 1: It doesn't matter where I am, Jeanette tells me, I'm 316 00:21:09,480 --> 00:21:13,879 Speaker 1: always planting the seeds of rebellion until we can harvest freedom. 317 00:21:15,200 --> 00:21:17,720 Speaker 1: But when Jeanette is talking about the work of sowing 318 00:21:17,840 --> 00:21:22,399 Speaker 1: the seeds of rebellion, she's also talking about something literal, 319 00:21:23,000 --> 00:21:27,080 Speaker 1: something deep in her heart. Her four children, guess miss 320 00:21:27,080 --> 00:21:28,800 Speaker 1: and yeah Oka. 321 00:21:29,160 --> 00:21:31,600 Speaker 2: Fire me chi. 322 00:21:33,560 --> 00:21:37,000 Speaker 1: Her children, she says, are her hope for the future. 323 00:21:37,560 --> 00:21:40,920 Speaker 1: They are what will continue her struggle no matter where 324 00:21:41,000 --> 00:21:43,919 Speaker 1: she is. For the two months that Jeannette has been 325 00:21:44,000 --> 00:21:47,479 Speaker 1: detained here. Her twenty one year old daughter, Luna, has 326 00:21:47,560 --> 00:21:50,239 Speaker 1: become the public face of her campaign to free her. 327 00:21:51,000 --> 00:21:54,040 Speaker 10: It's not until you're affected that you really know how 328 00:21:54,119 --> 00:21:57,679 Speaker 10: this really is, how this really feels. We really need 329 00:21:57,720 --> 00:22:01,800 Speaker 10: to organize, We really need to start building way to 330 00:22:02,080 --> 00:22:04,080 Speaker 10: really protect our neighbors. 331 00:22:04,480 --> 00:22:08,920 Speaker 1: Jeanette named her daughter Luna, the Spanish word for moon, 332 00:22:09,600 --> 00:22:12,800 Speaker 1: for her family. She says, the moon has a very 333 00:22:12,880 --> 00:22:16,800 Speaker 1: special significance. Can you see the moon from your room 334 00:22:16,960 --> 00:22:24,520 Speaker 1: with isbela luna tuerto abesis sometimes quando la. 335 00:22:24,520 --> 00:22:30,919 Speaker 9: Veo theo miscosqueo samon quer luna name significantou. 336 00:22:32,080 --> 00:22:35,159 Speaker 1: In twenty thirteen, after having lived in the US for 337 00:22:35,280 --> 00:22:38,159 Speaker 1: more than a decade, Jeanette went back to Mexico to 338 00:22:38,320 --> 00:22:45,480 Speaker 1: see her dying mother, You the Siao la. A few 339 00:22:45,520 --> 00:22:49,080 Speaker 1: months later, as she had promised to her children, she 340 00:22:49,440 --> 00:22:52,080 Speaker 1: decided to cross back over the border. 341 00:22:54,320 --> 00:22:57,560 Speaker 9: In Medio quo sierto. 342 00:22:58,840 --> 00:22:59,840 Speaker 2: Choaa Luna. 343 00:23:00,920 --> 00:23:04,680 Speaker 1: As she walked and walked through the mountainous desert at night, 344 00:23:05,040 --> 00:23:07,760 Speaker 1: she says, she would look up at the moon. 345 00:23:08,560 --> 00:23:13,119 Speaker 9: You lessius quada luna sawen Can you tell me leastbendo 346 00:23:13,200 --> 00:23:14,360 Speaker 9: yes knows what connected? 347 00:23:15,000 --> 00:23:17,880 Speaker 1: She really didn't know when she would see her kids again, 348 00:23:18,440 --> 00:23:20,480 Speaker 1: so she told them to look up at the moon 349 00:23:20,600 --> 00:23:23,119 Speaker 1: when they thought of her. She wanted them to know 350 00:23:23,320 --> 00:23:27,720 Speaker 1: that they were connected despite being in different places, just 351 00:23:28,119 --> 00:23:37,359 Speaker 1: like they are today. She's been a labor organizer since 352 00:23:37,560 --> 00:23:40,320 Speaker 1: even before they were born, when she arrived in Colorado 353 00:23:40,359 --> 00:23:42,720 Speaker 1: in the late nineteen nineties, when she worked as a janitor, 354 00:23:43,200 --> 00:23:46,960 Speaker 1: and that's where she began organizing her workplace. And it's 355 00:23:47,040 --> 00:23:51,200 Speaker 1: not like Jeanette isn't self aware. She knows she's seen 356 00:23:51,280 --> 00:23:54,439 Speaker 1: as a rapple rouser. But still, as she told me earlier, 357 00:23:54,920 --> 00:23:59,680 Speaker 1: she never expected she would actually become a political prisoner. 358 00:24:01,040 --> 00:24:05,119 Speaker 9: Nunka beenzeca uas a runa pressa politica and estados sunidos 359 00:24:05,440 --> 00:24:08,320 Speaker 9: don respecta lases. 360 00:24:08,080 --> 00:24:08,520 Speaker 5: She says. 361 00:24:08,800 --> 00:24:11,520 Speaker 1: I thought this was a country where they supposedly respect 362 00:24:11,560 --> 00:24:14,640 Speaker 1: the law, and where you had the right to free speech. 363 00:24:15,040 --> 00:24:20,080 Speaker 9: Expression de li berta, the expression don den recho de 364 00:24:20,160 --> 00:24:23,040 Speaker 9: manifestce de denusia. 365 00:24:23,359 --> 00:24:26,639 Speaker 1: And that right the First Amendment to the United States 366 00:24:26,720 --> 00:24:31,800 Speaker 1: Constitution is precisely what Janette's lawyers are arguing is being 367 00:24:31,960 --> 00:24:35,800 Speaker 1: violated in her case. In fact, they have filed a 368 00:24:35,960 --> 00:24:39,800 Speaker 1: First Amendment claim that says that she is being targeted 369 00:24:40,280 --> 00:24:43,840 Speaker 1: not because of her legal status, but because of her 370 00:24:43,960 --> 00:24:49,240 Speaker 1: activism and her politics, and she says she's not the 371 00:24:49,359 --> 00:24:54,040 Speaker 1: only one. Do you believe that you are the Mahmoud 372 00:24:54,160 --> 00:24:57,080 Speaker 1: Calille of the immigrant rights movement? 373 00:24:57,880 --> 00:25:00,720 Speaker 9: Stamos and a mismasituacn in some. 374 00:25:00,840 --> 00:25:05,159 Speaker 1: Most various we're in the same situation. She says, what 375 00:25:05,440 --> 00:25:07,960 Speaker 1: message do you believe that the United States government that 376 00:25:08,040 --> 00:25:13,200 Speaker 1: the Trump administration is trying to send by keeping you detained? 377 00:25:13,240 --> 00:25:21,160 Speaker 9: Here isokara qulled care persona, no solomi a qual care 378 00:25:21,240 --> 00:25:22,960 Speaker 9: persona in comola. 379 00:25:23,720 --> 00:25:26,080 Speaker 1: They're trying to show that they have the power to 380 00:25:26,280 --> 00:25:31,160 Speaker 1: disappear anyone, she says, not just me, but anyone who 381 00:25:31,240 --> 00:25:32,680 Speaker 1: stands against them. 382 00:25:35,160 --> 00:25:43,120 Speaker 9: So most Marla hented a convic cambio salves cabar consequences 383 00:25:43,640 --> 00:25:47,840 Speaker 9: rotambi in a caprendre a segursus convictions. 384 00:25:48,680 --> 00:25:52,960 Speaker 1: Jeanette says that people with moral convictions need to live 385 00:25:53,080 --> 00:25:57,200 Speaker 1: out their values, because she says, if we don't stop this, 386 00:25:57,920 --> 00:26:02,080 Speaker 1: the US will become just like other dictatorships. 387 00:26:03,040 --> 00:26:09,600 Speaker 9: Sinstro no paramo estol, pueblo, iMOS conciencia estos seva converted 388 00:26:10,920 --> 00:26:12,640 Speaker 9: arcot pladores. 389 00:26:19,280 --> 00:26:23,119 Speaker 1: That was from our exclusive interview with Jeanette Bisguerra. We 390 00:26:23,240 --> 00:26:26,920 Speaker 1: spoke to her from the Ice Detention facility in Aurora, Colorado, 391 00:26:27,200 --> 00:26:31,280 Speaker 1: where she is currently being held, and just this week 392 00:26:31,640 --> 00:26:34,600 Speaker 1: it was announced that even though Jeanette remains in detention, 393 00:26:35,240 --> 00:26:38,840 Speaker 1: she will receive the prestigious Robert F. Kennedy Junior Human 394 00:26:38,960 --> 00:26:43,359 Speaker 1: Rights Award. This is for her quote moral courage and 395 00:26:43,560 --> 00:26:49,000 Speaker 1: willingness to act on her convictions even at great personal risk. 396 00:27:00,160 --> 00:27:01,040 Speaker 5: This story was. 397 00:27:01,080 --> 00:27:04,560 Speaker 1: Produced by Ariel Goodman. It was edited by our managing 398 00:27:04,720 --> 00:27:09,159 Speaker 1: editor Fernanda Echavari. It was mixed by Stephanie Lebou and 399 00:27:09,320 --> 00:27:14,040 Speaker 1: jj Carubin fact checking by Rosanna Aguire. Special thanks to 400 00:27:14,119 --> 00:27:18,960 Speaker 1: our videographer Cesa Valadez and to our voice actor Monica Errera. 401 00:27:19,480 --> 00:27:22,840 Speaker 1: The rest of the Latino USA team includes Julia Caruso, 402 00:27:23,000 --> 00:27:28,960 Speaker 1: Jessica Ellis, Victoria Estrada, Monica Morales Garcia, Dominique Estrosa Rinaldo 403 00:27:29,040 --> 00:27:35,320 Speaker 1: Lanos Junior, Andrea Lopez Crusado, Luis Luna Marta Martinez, Tasha Sandoval, 404 00:27:35,760 --> 00:27:40,040 Speaker 1: Nour Saudi and Nancy Truchuillo. Bennibe Ramirez, Maria Garcia and 405 00:27:40,080 --> 00:27:44,280 Speaker 1: I are co executive producers. 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