Mario Guevara, seen here holding his camera, is currently in ICE custody after covering a protest in … More
Mario Guevara is an Emmy-winning independent journalist who’s spent years reporting on and even live-streaming immigration raids. Often on the ground before major news outlets, the Atlanta-based reporter attracted a massive online following by, among other things, sharing raw footage of ICE operations in real time.
But now, the Salvadoran-born reporter finds himself at the center of the story. Days after being arrested while covering a protest in Georgia, despite wearing a press vest and filming live, Guevara is in ICE custody and facing possible deportation — a startling role reversal for a journalist who fled El Salvador in 2004 after threats tied to his reporting and who built a career in the U.S. exposing how immigration power is exercised on the ground.
The arrest happened on Saturday during a “No Kings” protest in suburban DeKalb County, where Guevara was live-streaming the gathering for MGNews, his grassroots Spanish-language reporting platform.
A journalist in ICE custody
Police claim Guevara obstructed officers and was part of an unlawful assembly. He was taken to jail, charged with three misdemeanors, and was given a bond. Hours later, however, ICE got involved. And as of this writing, Guevara remains in federal custody.
His attorney Giovanni Diaz told reporters that Guevara is authorized to work in the US and is in the process of applying for permanent residency through his son (who’s a US citizen). Nevertheless, despite having lived in the US for more than two decades — and having won an Emmy for his reporting — Guevara is now being treated as a deportable immigrant first, and a journalist second.
His case also raises questions about press protections and what they actually mean. Such as – are these protections for everyone, or aren’t they?
In recent years, reports have documented how ICE will sometimes jump on minor infractions, like a misdemeanor arrest, as a pretext to set deportation proceedings in motion, particularly in jurisdictions that cooperate with federal immigration enforcement. Guevara’s case would certainly seem to fit that pattern.
The Committee to Protect Journalists didn’t mince words. “We are outraged at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s request to continue the detention of Spanish-language journalist Mario Guevara after he was arrested on Saturday while covering Atlanta protests,” said CPJ’s U.S., Canada and Caribbean program coordinator Katherine Jacobsen, in a statement about Guevara’s detention. “This request, which could lead to Guevara’s deportation, is a crude form of censorship. He must be released without delay.”
Guevara’s MGNews Facebook page has more than 780,000 followers. His live reporting has documented real-time arrests, family separations, and confrontations between immigrants and federal agents. In doing that work, he’s become a high-profile voice in the immigration discourse – as well as an example of the new media ecosystem, where coverage happens live, outside of traditional platforms.
As of June 18, Guevara remains in ICE custody. He’s likely to be transferred to a detention facility, while his legal team is expected to argue for his right to remain in the country on the basis of things like family ties and the chilling implications of deporting a working journalist. DeKalb County officials, meanwhile, say they’ve launched a review into how the protest was policed, including the use of tear gas and the arrest of members of the press.
“The people are asking for him to be freed because his detention is a major injustice,” one commenter on Facebook wrote about Guevara’s detention. Added another: “He is a journalist. Freedom and free expression are a right.”
