On Monday, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) called on US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to immediately release journalist Mario Guevara, a Salvadoran national and Spanish-language reporter arrested last month.
The statement follows a federal immigration judge’s ruling on July 1 granting Guevara $7,500 bail and ordering his release from ICE custody.
Guevara remains detained at the Folkston ICE Processing Center despite the order.
CPJ US, Canada, and Caribbean Program Coordinator Katherine Jacobsen stated that by continuing to hold Guevara, officials are effectively silencing a reporter who was in the United States legally and had covered immigration for nearly 20 years.
The CPJ alert welcomed the judge’s bond order, but criticized ICE for refusing to comply.
The organization warned that ICE’s actions send a dangerous message to immigrant journalists and newsrooms nationwide that legal status and court orders may not shield them from retaliation or prolonged detention.
CPJ reiterated that journalists should never be jailed for their work and called for a transparent review of ICE practices that appear to undermine press freedom.
Guevara was initially arrested on June 14 by local police while covering a protest, then transferred to ICE despite having valid work authorization and no criminal record charges tied solely to his reporting activities.
CPJ noted that the journalist’s First Amendment-related charges were dropped on June 25, yet ICE refused to allow bond, effectively blocking his release.
Guevara’s detention has raised broad concerns about the use of immigration enforcement to chill journalistic activity.
CPJ noted that Guevara had regularly covered immigration enforcement and community issues in Georgie, making his detention particularly troubling in light of his reporting focus.
(Jurist News)
