U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement violated Jeanette Vizguerra’s First Amendment rights by detaining — and planning to deport — the Colorado immigration advocate, her attorneys argued in federal court in Denver on Friday.

Vizguerra's attorneys said immigration agents detained her in violation of her First Amendment right to free speech.

ICE says Vizguerra entered the U.S. from Mexico illegally in 1997 and is being held pending deportation. In a statement shortly after her arrest, ICE said the mother of four has a final deportation order and “has received legal due process in U.S. immigration court.”

Community and family members of Jeanette Vizguerra, an undocumented Colorado immigration activist who was arrested by ICE on March 17, spoke Friday after a federal judge heard arguments that her First Amendment Rights were violated by ICE.

A lawyer for a prominent immigration activist arrested this month says authorities appear to be retaliating against her years after she took refuge in Colorado churches to avoid deportation during

On an evening that included cold rain and punishing winds, supporters of detained immigrant advocate Jeanette Vizguerra protested outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Aurora.

She has been at the ICE facility in Aurora since Monday when she was detained by ICE at the Target where she worked.

Jeanette Vizguerra's attorneys now argue that her detention was retaliatory, linked to her criticism of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and her activism. Federal prosecutors argue that Vizguerra's 2013 deportation order remains valid and justifies her removal from the United States.