Family, supporters urge release of Spanish-language journalist in ICE custody

Winnipeg Free Press

6 days ago

ATLANTA (AP) — A Spanish-language journalist who was arrested while covering a protest just outside Atlanta last month and is being held in a federal immigration jail felt a duty to help those whose voices often go unheard, his children said Tuesday.
Police in DeKalb County arrested Mario Guevara while he was covering a protest on June 14, and he was turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement a few days later. An immigration judge set a $7,500 bond for him earlier this month, but that ruling has been put on hold while the government appeals it.
For now, Guevara is being held in an immigration detention center in Folkston, in southeast Georgia, near the Florida border and a five-hour drive from his family in suburban Atlanta.
Katherine Guevara, 27, said that for more than 20 years she has watched her father's 'unwavering dedication and selfless commitment to serving the Hispanic community.'
'He chased stories that mattered, stories that told the truth about immigration, injustice, about people who usually go ignored,' she said during a news conference at the Georgia state Capitol.
Guevara, 47, fled El Salvador two decades ago and drew a big audience as a journalist in the Atlanta area. He worked for Mundo Hispanico, a Spanish-language newspaper, for years before starting a digital news outlet called MG News a year ago. He was livestreaming video on social media from a 'No Kings' rally protesting President Donald Trump's administration when local police arrested him in DeKalb County.
Guevara frequently arrives on the scene where ICE or other law enforcement agencies are active, often after getting tips from community members. He regularly livestreams what he's seeing on social media.
'Growing up, I didn't always understand why my dad was so obsessed with his work, why he'd jump up and leave dinner to chase down a story. But now I do,' said Oscar Guevara, 21, who now works as a photojournalist for MG News.
Guevara's children were joined at the news conference by members of civil rights and press freedom groups, as well as state lawmakers.
'Mario Guevara is journalist and so his detention raises even bigger questions, about civil rights, constitutional rights, the freedom of speech, the freedom of the press,' state Sen. Josh McLaurin said.
Giovanni Diaz, one of Guevara's lawyers, said he and the family have been speaking to Guevara regularly. He said Guevara is doing well but has 'been shaken to his core' because he believes he's being unfairly punished by a country he loves so much.
'He is still smiling. He's in good spirits. And he's in it for the fight, and so are we,' Diaz said.
Guevara is 'essentially in isolation,' Diaz said, adding that ICE has said that it's for his own safety since he's a public figure and his reporting style was sometimes controversial. But being kept alone, 'that wears on you,' Diaz said.
An immigration judge agreed with Guevara's lawyers that the journalist is not a danger to the community, but ICE is arguing he's such a threat that he shouldn't be released, Diaz said. The lawyer said he's optimistic that the Board of Immigration Appeals will decide in Guevara's favor and he will be able to post bond, allowing him to be free while he fights the government's efforts to deport him.
Guevara has been authorized to work and remain in the country, Diaz said. A previous immigration case against him was administratively closed more than a decade ago, and he has a pending green card application.
Video from his arrest shows Guevara wearing a bright red shirt under a protective vest with 'PRESS' printed across his chest. He could be heard telling a police officer, 'I'm a member of the media, officer.' He was standing on a sidewalk with other journalists, with no sign of big crowds or confrontations around him, moments before he was taken away.
Police charged Guevara with unlawful assembly, obstruction of police and being a pedestrian on or along the roadway. His lawyers worked to get him released and he was granted bond in DeKalb, but ICE had put a hold on him and he was held until they came to pick him up.
DeKalb County Solicitor-General Donna Coleman-Stribling on June 25 dismissed the charges, saying that video showed that Guevara was 'generally in compliance and does not demonstrate the intent to disregard law enforcement directives.'
The sheriff's office in neighboring Gwinnett County announced on June 20, once Guevara was already in ICE custody, that it had secured warrants against him on charges of distracted driving, failure to obey a traffic control device and reckless driving. Gwinnett County Solicitor-General Lisamarie Bristol announced July 10 that she would not pursue those charges.