Reporter's Arrest Sparks Fear Among Immigrant Journalists
Veteran reporter Mario Guevara’s detention after livestreaming an ICE protest tests America’s commitment to a free press — and alarms watchdogs about a new chilling effect.
WASHINGTON — The arrest of veteran Salvadoran journalist Mario Guevara during a protest in Georgia earlier this month has sparked an outcry from press freedom advocates, who say the move sets an “alarming precedent” for immigrant journalists working in the United States.
Guevara, a Spanish-language reporter with a decades-long track record covering immigrant communities in metro Atlanta, was taken into custody on June 14 while livestreaming a protest against Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids. Though he wore a press vest and identified himself as a journalist, Guevara was arrested by local police for alleged unlawful assembly and obstruction of officers. He is now being held by ICE.
"I'm a member of the media, officer," Guevara can be heard saying in the livestream, moments before law enforcement officers detain him. The video shows his phone falling to the pavement and an officer picking it up at his request as he is led away in handcuffs and placed in a vehicle (NPR, June 24, 2025).
In a statement to NPR, the Department of Homeland Security claimed Guevara was detained not because of his journalism but because he "entered the country illegally in 2004" and urged him to "self deport."
But Guevara’s attorney, Giovanni Diaz, strongly disputed DHS’s account. He told NPR that Guevara originally entered the U.S. on a tourist visa, has valid work authorization, and has a pending application for adjustment of status that could lead to permanent residency.
Photos from the day of the protest, published by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, clearly show Guevara wearing a press vest as he covered the demonstration on Chamblee Tucker Road.
Katherine Jacobsen, U.S. program coordinator for the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), told Morning Edition that Guevara’s arrest and subsequent transfer to ICE custody is “something that we haven’t seen before and is an incredibly alarming precedent to set.”
“Simply put, Guevara was doing his job and reporting the news,” Jacobsen said. “To use that as a pretext to hold him – a journalist – for a very long period of time in law enforcement detention, and then to transfer him to ICE detention after, that is... deeply troubling”.
CPJ sent a letter to DHS calling for Guevara’s immediate release and warning that his detention represents “a grim erosion of both freedom of the press and the rule of law.”
Despite public calls for clarification, DHS has not responded to CPJ's letter. “The Department of Homeland Security has also tweeted that the narrative about Guevara is false,” Jacobsen noted, “though they have not specified further as to what the falsehoods are”.
Guevara, who founded the independent outlet MG News, has been a visible presence in Georgia’s immigrant communities for two decades, reporting in Spanish for local outlets and building a loyal audience.
Asked what advice she would give to other immigrant journalists now fearing retaliation, Jacobsen urged vigilance. “It’s important to make sure that those journalists have contact with a good immigration lawyer, as well as First Amendment lawyers, and have a clear understanding of their rights”.
Advocates warn that the Guevara case reflects a broader chilling effect on press freedom under the Trump administration’s escalated immigration crackdown—a trend that many fear is eroding fundamental democratic norms.
As Jacobsen put it: “In theory, they enjoy the same First Amendment rights... but when a journalist who, again, is here legally is picked up by law enforcement and then his immigration status is called into question… it’s alarming.”