Immigration

Federal prosecutors appeal Uzbek terror suspect’s imminent release in Colorado

DENVER – U.S. Justice Department prosecutors on Monday appealed the granting of bail to Uzbek terrorism suspect Jamshid Muhtorov, and his release was postponed Monday to later this week in order to give the court more time to be sure that his home is an acceptable place for him to stay while he awaits trial on a terrorism charge.

U.S. District Court of Colorado Judge John Kane on Friday ordered Muhtorov released from custody while he awaits trial, and set a hearing for today to determine what Muhtorov’s terms and conditions of release would be. Continue reading

Undocumented Denver-area woman with 3 kids deported to Mexico

DENVER – The Denver-area mother of several children arrested by federal immigration agents last Wednesday during a routine check-in was deported to Mexico on Friday, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) spokesman said Sunday.

Ilse Cristina Rodriguez-Sagarnaga, 30, (also known as Isle Christina by ICE) was removed to Juarez, Mexico via El Paso, Texas on Friday, said ICE spokesman Carl Rusnok.

Rodriguez-Sagarnaga had told Denver7 earlier that day that she had been taken from ICE custody in Denver to Arizona, where her deportation was imminent.

Her attorneys and supporters have said that she has lived in the U.S. since she first entered illegally when she was 5 years old, though ICE has not been able to confirm when she came to the U.S.

She has three misdemeanor convictions in Colorado, including a guilty plea for false reporting and harassment.

Rodriguez-Sagarnaga’s attorney had claimed that the false reporting plea came after she claimed she was a victim of domestic violence at the hands an ex-husband.

Rusnok says ICE granted Rodriguez-Sagarnaga a one-year stay of removal in June 2016, and that she had requested another stay of removal, which was denied on Tuesday.

Her attorney and supporters had said she was awaiting the approval of a U-Visa, which are given to victims of domestic violence living in the country illegally who aid law enforcement during some investigations.

Her attorney had also argued that she should have been eligible for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program because she was brought to the U.S. as a child.

Her case is the latest in a host of cases involving ICE agents arresting people in the Denver area and deporting them for minor convictions, even if they have children who are U.S. citizens.

ICE and the Department of Homeland Security have said that they will prosecute people living in the country illegally no matter their criminal record.

Undocumented mother of 3 U.S. citizens in process of being deported

UPDATE: Rodriguez-Sagarnaga has been transported to Arizona where she is expected to be immediately deported to Mexico, according to her attorney.

DENVER – Another undocumented woman, who is the mother of three U.S.-citizen children, was arrested Wednesday by immigration agents in Denver and faces immediate deportation.

Ilse Cristina Rodriguez-Sagarnaga, 30, was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents when she went to check in with the local ICE field office Wednesday.

ICE spokesman Carl Rusnok says that Rodriguez-Sagarnaga, a Mexican national, has three misdemeanor convictions in Colorado.

Colorado court records show she pleaded guilty to false reporting in 2010, and harassment.

He says it’s unclear when she first illegally entered the United States, but a federal immigration judge granted her a voluntary departure, and then a final order of removal, in October 2012.

Rusnok says ICE granted Rodriguez-Sagarnaga a one-year stay of removal in June 2016, and that she had requested another stay of removal, which was denied on Tuesday.

Jennifer Piper, with the American Friends Service Committee, which advocates for people living in the U.S. illegally and targeted for removal by ICE, says that Rodriguez-Sagarnaga has been in the U.S. since she was 5 years old.

She and her husband, Alberto, have three young daughters, aged 9 months, 22 months and 3 years, according to Piper.

Piper says that one of Rodriguez-Sagarnaga’s convictions came when she was “trying to leave an abusive ex-husband,” and that she wasn’t able to apply for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) because of the charge.

The DACA programs allows children of undocumented parents to work or study in the U.S. without being targeted for deportation.

It’s one of the Obama-era programs the Trump administration said late last week would stay intact, though the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA), which was held up in federal court before it could be fully rolled out, will go away.

Since Rodriguez-Sagarnaga is the parent of children who are citizens, the program could have theoretically applied to her. Piper and Rodriguez-Sagarnaga’s attorney argue that Rodriguez-Sagarnaga could have been eligible for DACA had she not been convicted of a crime because she was brought to the U.S. as a child.

“Cristina has virtually no memory of Mexico, but could be deported without her children very soon, possibly as early as this Friday,” said her attorney James Lamb. “In all relevant respects, she is 100% as American as a native born citizen. I have known Cristina, and her family, for many years. She is the mother of three U.S. citizen children, and she has lived in the United States since the age of five, when her parents arranged for her to travel here. She is a survivor of severe domestic abuse, both as a child and in her first relationship. Since escaping the abusive relationships, she found new life and opportunities.”

Lamb and Piper say they fear Rodriguez-Sagarnaga could be deported as soon as Friday. Her supporters say she has a pending visa application as well.

Rusnok said Rodriguez-Sagarnaga remains in ICE custody in Denver pending her removal to Mexico.

Her case is the latest in a host of cases involving ICE agents arresting people in the Denver area and deporting them for minor convictions, even if they have children who are U.S. citizens.

In a video posted by American Friends Service Committee, before Cristina went to her ICE check-in she stated “For years, the immigration system has been broken and this new administration does not understand that separating families causes so much hurt, so much harm.”

Uzbek terrorism suspect Jamshid Muhtorov ordered to be released from Colorado custody after 5+ years

DENVER – A federal judge in Denver on Friday ordered the release of a refugee from Uzbekistan first jailed in 2012 on suspicions he was providing support to an Islamic jihadist group overseas, and who has yet to face a trial on the charges.

Jamshid Muhtorov will remain in U.S. Marshals custody until U.S. District Court of Colorado Judge John Kane determines at a Monday afternoon hearing what his conditions and terms of release will be. Continue reading

ICE will continue immigration roundups at courthouses despite pleas from Denver officials

DENVER – A U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement official respectfully declined to order a stop to his agents’ ongoing presence at Denver courthouses—something Denver’s officials called for in a letter to the agency in early April.

Matthew T. Albence, the Executive Associate Director at ICE, replied to the April 6 letter from Denver Mayor Michael Hancock and other city officials on May 25. The mayor’s office received the reply Monday. Continue reading

Sen. Bennet files legislation to help Arturo Hernandez-Garcia, Colorado man facing deportation

DENVER – U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet has filed a private bill aimed at keeping a Denver-area man picked up for deportation by federal immigration agents this week from being removed from the country.

Arturo Hernandez-Garcia, 44, was detained at work by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents earlier this week.

Bennet filed private legislation – usually aimed at specific people’s situations, often involving immigration cases – on Thursday to try and stop Hernandez-Garcia from being deported. He also reached out to ICE to request a time extension in deciding Hernandez-Garcia’s case.

“Arturo has been a valued member of our community for nearly two decades,” Bennet said in a statement. “As a business owner, he has contributed to our economy and has always worked hard to support his family. He should not be a priority for deportation.”

Hernandez-Garcia was among the first undocumented immigrants in the country to use a church as a place of sanctuary from federal agents when he spent 9 months at Denver’s First Unitarian Church in 2015.

He left the church after he was told he wasn’t a priority for deportation, despite ICE having given him final removal orders.

ICE spokesman Carl Rusnok told Denver7 earlier this week that Hernandez-Garcia would be held in ICE custody until he is removed.

Hernandez-Garcia first came to the U.S. through El Paso, Texas in January 2003 on a six-month work visa, according to ICE, but outstayed his visa. He was first targeted for deportation after his 2010 arrest on an assault charge for a fight at work – a charge that was later dropped.

In October 2012, a federal immigration judge granted a 60-day voluntary departure request, but those turned into final deportation orders in December 2012, when he failed to voluntarily remove himself from the U.S., according to ICE.

In 2014, an appeal of his deportation was dismissed, but the Board of Immigration Appeals extended his voluntary departure date through Aprill 2014. However, when he didn’t leave, a final order of removal became active again, according to ICE. He had applications for stays of removal denied in May 2014 and March 2015, according to ICE.

Hernandez-Garcia has a wife and two daughters – one of whom was born in the U.S., which generally kept him safe under the Obama administration’s directive that protected undocumented parents of citizen children.

The First Unitarian Church has also been a sanctuary haven for Jeanette Vizguerra, a Mexican national who took sanctuary at the church earlier this year when she was scheduled to be deported. Vizguerra was named as one of TIME Magazine’s 100 most influential people of the year last week, and is one of at least two women in the Denver area currently in sanctuary.

Bennet also issued a private bill seeking relief for Vizguerra in March. His calls for relief come amid an increased focus under the Donald Trump administration to deport anyone living in the country illegally – something Bennet has been loudly opposed to.

He called Hernandez-Garcia’s case “yet another example of this Administration’s misguided immigration policies that do not align with our national priorities and values.”

It’s unclear exactly what effect, if any, the private bill might have on Hernandez-Garcia’s case at this time.

Hernandez-Garcia and Vizguerra’s cases are among several high-profile immigration cases that are currently ongoing in the Denver area.

There is a march in front of the ICE detention facility in Aurora scheduled for Friday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. to protest Hernandez-Garcia’s detainment.


Enjoy this content? Follow Denver7 on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and download the Denver7 app on iOS and Android devices for continual access to breaking news, weather and sports.

Denver police chief allays concern within undocumented community over deportation fears

DENVER – Denver’s mayor praised a federal judge’s decision Tuesday to block an executive order by President Donald Trump that would strip federal funding from so-called sanctuary cities – just around the same time that the city’s police chief tried to calm fears in Denver’s immigrant communities.

Denver Police Chief Robert White laid out the city’s plan on how its officers work with federal immigration officials under the Trump administration at a community meeting Tuesday that brought standing-room-only crowds. He started by noting that there have been an uptick in the number of immigration officers in the city, but told the crowd not to worry. Continue reading

Undocumented father who sought sanctuary in Denver church detained by ICE at work

CENTENNIAL, Colo. – An undocumented man who was the first in Colorado to seek sanctuary from deportation when he did so in 2015 was detained at work Wednesday by U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents.

It was quite the change of course for Arturo Hernandez-Garcia, who was told in 2015 after nine months of being in sanctuary at Denver’s First Unitarian Church that he was not a priority for deportation.

Hernandez-Garcia, a 44-year-old Mexican native, returned to his normal life in Colorado until he was again picked up Wednesday.

Hernandez-Garcia first came to the U.S. through El Paso, Texas in January 2003 on a six-month work visa, according to ICE, but outstayed his visa. He was first targeted for deportation after his 2010 arrest on an assault charge for a fight at work – a charge that was later dropped.

In October 2012, a federal immigration judge granted a 60-day voluntary departure request, but those turned into final deportation orders in December 2012, when he failed to voluntarily remove himself from the U.S., according to ICE.

In 2014, an appeal of his deportation was dismissed, but the Board of Immigration Appeals extended his voluntary departure date through Aprill 2014. However, when he didn’t leave, a final order of removal became active again, according to ICE. He had applications for stays of removal denied in May 2014 and March 2015, according to ICE.

He will now be held until his removal, according to ICE spokesman Carl Rusnok.

Hernandez-Garcia was one of 10 people living in sanctuary across the country at the time – something that has become more common under the Trump administration’s increased focus on deporting undocumented immigrants, since churches are generally respected by immigration agents as off-limits.

Hernandez has a wife and two daughters – one of whom was born in the U.S., which generally kept him safe under the Obama administration’s directive that protected undocumented parents of citizen children.

The First Unitarian Church has also been a sanctuary haven for Jeanette Vizguerra, a Mexican national who took sanctuary at the church earlier this year when she was scheduled to be deported. Vizguerra was named as one of TIME Magazine’s 100 most influential people of the year last week, and is one of at least two women in the Denver area currently in sanctuary.

In a Facebook video she posted Wednesday, she pleaded for Hernandez-Garcia’s release.

“We need for the community to get active, for the community to do something, and we need to join in this campaign. Today, we are all Arturo,” she said.

Hernandez-Garcia’s detainment comes less than a week after an Aurora mother of four was deported and removed from the country without her children.

MORE | Learn about the undocumented mother of 4 who ICE agents detained, deported from Colorado. 


Enjoy this content? Follow Denver7 on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and download the Denver7 app on iOS and Android devices for continual access to breaking news, weather and sports.

Undocumented mother of 4 from Aurora has been deported from US by ICE agents

AURORA, Colo. – An undocumented mother of four who has spent much of the past two decades in Aurora has been deported and removed from the country by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The lawyer for Maria de Jesus Jimenez-Sanchez confirmed to Denver7 Tuesday that she was deported on April 18 – five days after she was originally detained in Centennial by ICE agents.

Her lawyer, Lakewood attorney Jennifer Kain-Rios, says that Jimenez-Sanchez is the mother to four children, including a 15-year-old developmentally-disabled daughter.

ICE says that Jimenez-Sanchez, whose real name is Karen Araujo-Jimenez, first entered the U.S. illegally in October 1999, and that she was immediately confronted by federal agents and voluntarily returned to Mexico the same day.

She was then caught posing as another person while trying to enter the U.S. in Douglas, Arizona in May 2001, according to ICE spokesman Carl Rusnok, and was again deported immediately.

Jimenez-Sanchez was taken into custody by ICE again in December 2012, when she was pulled over and cited for driving without a license.

She spent six months in ICE custody. In May 2013, according to ICE, an immigration judge upheld a previous removal order for her and ordered her to be deported by the Department of Homeland Security.

But she had been granted a one-year stay of deportation a month earlier. The stays were extended for another year in May 2014, March 2015 and March 2016, Rusnok said, but her latest stay request was denied March 14 of this year.

But she was picked up again last Wednesday when she showed up for a routine immigration check-in despite knowing her latest stay request had been denied, according to Kain-Rios.

Kain-Rios said she could not divulge where Jimenez-Sanchez had been deported to, but said she had been in communication with the woman since she was deported.

Kain-Rios says Jimenez-Sanchez is trying to decide whether to continue fighting to be in the U.S. Many of her stays had been granted because she was caring and helping educate her disabled daughter, Kain-Rios says.

Her case is the third high-profile case involving women scheduled to be deported out of the Denver area. Jeanette Vizguerra and Ingrid LaTorre are both in sanctuary at Denver-area churches to stave off their deportations.

The cases come amid an increased effort by immigration officials under the Trump administration to deport people living in the country illegally no matter if they’ve been convicted of a violent crime or not.


Enjoy this content? Follow Denver7 on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and download the Denver7 app on iOS and Android devices for continual access to breaking news, weather and sports.

Aurora mother of 4 scheduled for deportation had been caught twice before, ICE says

DENVER – A new report shows immigration arrests rose by 32.6 percent in the first few weeks of the Trump administration as another Denver-area woman living in the country illegally faces deportation herself.

Last Friday, Denver7 reported that Maria de Jesus Jimenez-Sanchez, a mother of four living in Aurora, saw her request for a stay of deportation denied and was scheduled to be deported.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman Carl Rusnok told Denver7 late Friday that Jimenez-Sanchez, whose real name is Karen Araujo-Jimenez, had indeed been denied her latest request for stay.

Rusnok said that Jimenez-Sanchez first entered the U.S. illegally in October 1999. ICE says that she was immediately confronted by federal agents and voluntarily returned to Mexico the same day.

She was then caught posing as another person while trying to enter the U.S. in Douglas, Arizona in May 2001, according to Rusnok, and was again deported immediately.

Jimenez-Sanchez’s lawyer, Jennifer Kain-Rios, said that her client had lived in Aurora since 1999.

ICE confirmed that Jimenez-Sanchez was taken into ICE custody again in December 2012. That lines up with the timeline Kain-Rios gave, in which she said Jimenez-Sanchez was pulled over and cited for driving without a license.

She spent six months in ICE custody. In May 2013, according to ICE, an immigration judge upheld a previous removal order for her and ordered her to be deported by the Department of Homeland Security.

But she had been granted a one-year stay of deportation a month earlier. The stays were extended for another year in May 2014, March 2015 and March 2016, Rusnok said, but her latest stay request was denied March 14 of this year.

She was picked up in Centennial Wednesday when she showed up for her routine immigration check-in despite knowing her stay had been denied, her lawyer says.

Her case is the third high-profile case involving women scheduled to be deported out of the Denver area. Jeanette Vizguerra and Ingrid LaTorre are both in sanctuary at Denver-area churches to stave off their deportations.

The cases come amid an increased effort by immigration officials under the Trump administration to deport people living in the country illegally no matter if they’ve been convicted of a violent crime or not.

In a story published by The Washington Post Sunday, the Post found that ICE arrested 21,362 undocumented immigrants from January through mid-March, compared to 16,104 during the same time period in 2016 – an increase of 32.6 percent.

The Post also found that the number of people arrested with no criminal records doubled, though almost three quarters of those arrested did have criminal records (an increase of 15 percent year-over-year).

And Rusnok noted Friday that anyone in violation of immigration laws is subject to arrest and possible deportation. He also noted that from FY 2012-16, between 41 and 45 percent of undocumented immigrants removed from the U.S. had no prior criminal convictions.


Enjoy this content? Follow Denver7 on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and download the Denver7 app on iOS and Android devices for continual access to breaking news, weather and sports.