Illegal immigrant faces separation from family

Undocumented Mexican immigrant Jeanette Vizguerra embraces her U.S.-born children Luna, 7, and Roberto, 5, on July 10 in Denver, Colo. Vizguerra's three youngest children were all born in the Denver area. Just one of millions of undocumented immigrants living in the U.S., Vizguerra first came to Colorado from Mexico City with her husband and first child 14 years before. Now an activist for the immigration advocate group Rights For All People, she also owns a janitorial service and says she has always paid state and federal taxes on her income. Two years ago she was stopped by a traffic officer for driving with expired tags and taken to jail, where she could not prove her legal immigration status. Vizguerra was facing a deportation hearing at Denver's Federal Courthouse. Out on bail, she says that if she is deported, the children will remain in the United States with her husband, Salvador.

Vizguerra speaks about immigrant rights issues with members of the Mexican community on July 10 in Denver.

Vizguerra cleans an apartment building on May 21 in Aurora, Colo. Vizguerra is a small business owner of a janitorial cleaning company, while her husband works as a truck driver and runs a household moving service.

Vizguerra shops with her daughter Luna, 7, at a specialty Mexican grocery store on July 11 in Aurora, Colo. With a large Mexican population in Colorado, large specialty grocery stores carry not only produce, but a full range of Mexican products.

Vizguerra unloads her car after grocery shopping on July 11 in Aurora.

Vizguerra dines with her family on July 10 in Denver. While she has dealt with her ongoing battle to remain in the U.S., her husband Salvador, who she came across the border from Mexico with more than 14 years before, has never been targeted by immigration officials for deportation.

Roberto Vizguerra, 4, and Luna Vizguerra, 7, both children of Mexican immigrant Jeanette Vizguerra, play while their mother meets with officials at the Mexican consulate in Denver on May 23. Vizguerra said that she petitioned the consulate for help after she was first detained by police more than two years ago, but officials only got in touch recently after news reports came out concerning her case.

U.S.-born Zury Vizguerra, 5 months, gazes at her mother Jeanette Vizguerra, on July 10 in Denver. Vizguerra denies accusations that she bore children in the United States in order to get American social benefits, saying that she has never accepted services like food stamps.

Luna Vizguerra, 7, an American citizen born to an undocumented immigrant, looks out of her apartment window on July 11 in Aurora, Colo.

Jeanette Vizguerra, her husband Salvador and their children Luna, 7, and Roberto, 5, walk to her immigration hearing in federal court on July 13 in Denver. At the hearing, the court said it would not release its verdict on her possible deportation until October, leaving her and her family in continued uncertainty.

Supporters of Vizguerra show their support outside the federal courthouse where her immigration hearing was under way on July 13 in Denver. Immigrant rights groups in Aurora, Colo., have come together behind Vizguerra.

Visually shaken up after the hearing, Vizguerra said government prosecutors engaged in character assassination to tear down her reputation before the judge. The hearing ended in continued uncertainty for her and her family, with the court not expected to announce her fate until October.