ICE refuses to release Spanish language reporter
Detention of Mario Guevara despite court order seen as assault on free press and judicial oversight
The nonprofit Committee to Protect Journalists on July 2, 2025, condemned a decision by United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement authorities not to comply with a federal immigration judge’s order that granted bail to Atlanta-based Salvadoran journalist Mario Guevara, who was originally arrested on First Amendment-related charges that were dropped on June 25.
“We are outraged that immigration authorities refused to free journalist Mario Guevara on bond after a judge ordered that he could be released yesterday,” said Katherine Jacobsen, coordinator of CPJ’s U.S., Canada and Caribbean program. “By continuing to hold Guevara, officials are effectively silencing a reporter who was in the United States legally and had covered immigration stories in his Atlanta metro community for nearly 20 years. He must be released.”
Guevara’s immigration attorney, Giovanni Diaz, told CPJ that ICE has not allowed Guevara’s family to post bond, nor has the family been given a clear explanation why. The Spanish-language reporter is currently the only journalist in custody in the U.S. whose arrest was directly related to their work.
A federal immigration judge ruled on July 1 that Guevara could be released on $7,500 bond, with the caveat that his release could be reconsidered if he were to face additional charges or be convicted.
At the bail hearing, the federal government argued that livestreaming — a reporting method favored by Guevara — presented a danger to the public by compromising the integrity and safety of law enforcement activities. That position “should alarm all journalists working in the United States,” Jacobsen said.
According to CPJ, Guevara faces three misdemeanor charges related to traffic violations. The charges were filed after an ICE detainer was issued and nearly one month after the violations allegedly occurred.
Guevara was arrested on June 14 while covering a No Kings protest in the Atlanta metro area, during which he wore a press pass and clearly identified himself as a journalist to ICE agents. Guevara was subsequently denied bond and transferred to ICE custody. The First Amendment-related charges against him were dropped by the Dekalb County solicitor-general on June 25, and on July 1, a federal immigration judge ordered that he be released on bond. At the time of publication, Guevara was in custody at the Folkston ICE Processing Center in southeastern Georgia.
Image: CPJ screenshot (via YouTube/Atlanta First News)