A federal judge on Friday heard that the lawyers for prominent Denver immigration advocate Jeanette Vizguerra anticipate amending their petition for her release by adding a claim that officials detained her in retaliation for First Amendment-protected activity.

U.S. District Court Judge Nina Y. Wang was originally scheduled to hear arguments from Vizguerra’s attorneys and the government about whether her detention at Aurora’s privately operated detention center this month violates her constitutional right to due process. But Wang converted the hearing to a status conference after Vizguerra’s lawyers notified her on Thursday of their intent to amend the original habeas corpus petition.

The intended modification is based “both on her statements regarding what took place when she was nearly ambushed … by officers for Immigration & Customs Enforcement who said, ‘We finally got you,'” said attorney Laura L. Lichter. “We also saw additional media and social media reports to lead us to believe there is a valid claim here under the First Amendment.”

“Do you believe you can do that within the context of a habeas petition?” asked Wang, referring to the legal means of challenging the lawfulness of a conviction or confinement.

Lichter said she believed it was possible.

The potential deportation of the 53-year-old mother and grandmother — one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people of 2017 — has become one of the most recent local flashpoints of America’s immigration debate.

Vizguerra, a Mexican national who made headlines during President Donald Trump’s first term by seeking sanctuary in multiple churches to avoid deportation, was apprehended by ICE agents on March 17 during a break from her job at a Target store.

After her attorneys filed a petition alleging a violation of Vizguerra’s right to due process, Wang ordered the defendants — including the Aurora ICE facility’s warden, U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem and U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi — not to remove Vizguerra from Colorado or deport her from the country until Wang could rule.

“This is, in a sense, a test case because this administration wants to show that no one is safe, not even someone who presents no public safety threat,” said University of Colorado law professor Deep Gulasekaram at the time. “They want to show that ‘We can do this. This is how far we will go.'”

Since her detention, multiple Democratic elected officials have issued statements in support of Vizguerra.

Denver Mayor Mike Johnston deemed it “Putin-style persecution of political dissidents.” U.S. Reps. Diana DeGette, Joe Neguse, Jason Crow and Brittany Pettersen accused the Trump administration of “going after mothers with U.S.-born children and immigrant advocates, like Ms. Vizguerra.”

However, former GOP congressional candidate and retired ICE Field Office Director John Fabbricatore, who followed Vizguerra’s case for over a decade, said, “It’s a case we’ve been trying to remove for years.”

Vizguerra’s primary assertion is that following her voluntary departure in 2012 while her initial deportation order was pending on appeal, immigration authorities did not properly reinstate the order when she re-entered the country the following year. Her lawyers maintain there is, therefore, no valid order of deportation.

The government, in its initial response, argued the proper venue for adjudicating the dispute was the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit, where Vizguerra has filed a related petition.

Lichter said Vizguerra’s attorneys have been “proceeding on two tracks just in case to preserve her rights.”

Wang briefly asked the parties about interviews with asylum officers in which Vizguerra is being asked to participate without her attorneys present. The next interview, to determine if Vizguerra should not be deported to a country that presents a danger to her, is scheduled for Monday.

“What about her position that she isn’t subject to a valid order?” asked Wang, a Joe Biden appointee. “If there’s not that prerequisite, how does that interview get triggered?”

“There’s lot of situations where people dispute whether something is valid,” responded Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Bart Jafek. “But until a court tells the agency, ‘No, there is no valid order of reinstatement,’ the agency has to follow its regulations.”

After a follow-up from Wang, Jafek confirmed Vizguerra has the right for her counsel to be present during the interview.

Afterward, Lichter said her client’s case is being monitored as similar detentions are occurring across the country.

“This administration is detaining lots of different people for lots of different reasons. Some of them are quite disturbing,” she said. “I believe the targeting here of Jeanette is in line with what we are seeing in other types of cases where people are being targeted for showing up at a protest, for posting certain messages on social media, for having a particular opinion. I believe that’s unconstitutional.”

Vizguerra’s attorneys have until April 8 to file her amended habeas corpus petition. Wang also decided to make the case filings available publicly, where they had been under restricted access by default.

The case is Vizguerra-Ramirez v. Ceja et al.

This article has been updated with additional comments.