Spanish language journalist added to list of questionable ICE detentions
The Committee to Project Journalists, which until the current administration was known primarily for its journalist advocacy in war zones and repressive regimes in other countries, on Friday signed a letter calling for the release of a detained journalist in Georgia.
CPJ and a coalition of civil society and media organizations asked that journalist Mario Guevara be released on bond from United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody and that “removal proceedings against him, which were triggered by three misdemeanor charges that seem to conflict with his First Amendment rights as a journalist, be dropped unequivocally and immediately.”
If Guevara’s deportation case proceeds, it would represent what CPJ terms “a grim erosion of both freedom of the press and the rule of law. Journalists who are not U.S. citizens could be at risk of deportation solely because local law enforcement filed misdemeanor charges against them in retaliation for reporting without those charges ever being tried in court.”
Guevara, an Emmy-winning, Spanish-language reporter who covers immigration on his “MGnews” Facebook page and other social media platforms, was arrested on June 14, 2025, while livestreaming a “No Kings” protest against the actions of the Trump administration in an Atlanta suburb. According to video footage of his arrest, Guevara was wearing a press pass and clearly identified himself as a journalist to law enforcement.
Guevara, who has authorization to work in the U.S., was transferred to ICE custody after the immigration authority issued a detainer against him. At the time of the letter’s publication, he was being held in the Folkston ICE Processing Center. Guevara has lived in the U.S. for more than 20 years.
Image: Guevera (via CPJ)