Victory for detained Honduran mother Carla Medina

Aurora, CO – On May 8, organizers, family members and community supporters gathered outside the GEO Group ICE Processing Center in Aurora for a press conference providing updates on Carla Medina’s asylum hearing from earlier in the day. The press conference, organized by Aurora Unidos CSO and the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), is part of a growing movement to free the political prisoners held in the GEO detention facility in Aurora.

Medina, a mother of two, was arrested by ICE last October while delivering food for DoorDash at Buckley Space Force Base. She had a valid work permit and was in the middle of the legal asylum process after entering the U.S. through the CBP One app, a government run system promoted as a legal pathway to safety. She has now spent seven months inside the GEO detention facility and was unable to be released on bond after being classified as an “arriving alien.”

In a significant legal victory, Medina’s asylum was granted. However, the government still has 30 days to appeal the decision based on one remaining issue – whether there were “extraordinary circumstances” that delayed her asylum application beyond the one-year filing deadline.

This victory is the result of tireless grassroots organizing. Weekly vigils for community organizer Jeanette Vizguerra, held at the same facility, became a platform to share Medina’s story and rally support. Medina’s husband, Pablo, who regularly spoke at the vigils, emphasized that community pressure played a key role in the outcome. In less than a month, supporters raised nearly $10,000 for Medina’s legal defense.

“This victory would not have been possible without the strength and support of the community,” said Pablo, “It’s not just a win for Carla, it’s a win for the community. We must continue fighting until every person in this facility is free.”

The event ended with a call to action and a reminder that the fight is far from over. As Alfredo Carbajal from Aurora Unidos CSO stated, “This shows that when we fight, we win. But this doesn’t end here; we must keep up the momentum and continue demanding the freedom of all those who remain detained.”

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