Atlanta Spanish-language journalist deported
Mario Guevara had been in federal immigration custody since June 14.
ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - Mario Guevara, the Atlanta Spanish-language journalist who spent months in ICE custody, has been deported.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said Guevara was deported at 4 a.m. on Friday to El Salvador.
“Mario Guevara’s deportation is a troubling sign of the deteriorating freedom of the press under the Trump administration,” said Katherine Jacobsen, U.S., Canada, and Caribbean program coordinator for the Committee to Protect Journalists. “Make no mistake, this is not a simple immigration case as authorities would have the public believe. Guevara was first detained in retaliation for his reporting and throughout his prolonged detention, the government argued that he was being held because his livestreaming activity posed a danger to law enforcement activity.”
“It is shameful that the U.S. Government is deporting Guevara, the first time that CPJ has documented this type of retaliation related to reporting activity.”
Shortly before midnight on Thursday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit denied Guevara’s appeal to halt his pending deportation.
Guevara was born in El Salvador but has lived in Atlanta for about two decades. He was detained while covering a June anti-ICE protest in DeKalb County and transferred to federal custody.
The Board of Immigration Appeals, an executive agency whose members are appointed by the White House, cited a 13-year-old deportation order that was discovered in his file.
According to officials, Guevara does not have permanent residency in the United States — but his attorneys claim he has a work authorization.
For a time, Guevara bounced between several different facilities. He bonded out of Gwinnett County Jail after facing traffic-related charges that have since been dropped, but was then taken back into ICE custody at the Floyd County Jail before being transported to the federal corrections center in Atlanta.
On Sept. 22, Guevara released a letter on his 100th day of detainment.
“I’m aware of my legal status; I know I’m about to be expelled from this country, which I’ve loved and respected so much for more than two decades,” Guevara wrote in a letter translated by Marcelo Wheelock, digital content producer for Atlanta News First’s sister station, Telemundo.
“Life isn’t always fair. If they deport me, I’ll leave with my head held high, because I’m convinced it will be for carrying out my journalistic work and not for committing crimes.”
This is a developing story. Check back with Atlanta News First as we learn more.
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