After 100 Days in ICE Detention, Atlanta Journalist Mario Guevara Deported to El Salvador

Atlanta-based immigration reporter Mario Guevara was deported to El Salvador on Friday after spending roughly 100 days in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody, ending a high-profile detention that press freedom groups called unprecedented and chilling for journalists covering law enforcement.

Guevara, who fled El Salvador in 2004 and built a two-decade career reporting for Spanish-language audiences in Georgia, was arrested on June 14 while livestreaming a “No Kings Day” protest in DeKalb County; local charges were later dismissed, but he was transferred to ICE detention.

Civil liberties organizations say an immigration judge ordered him released on bond during the summer, yet ICE kept him confined, arguing his livestreaming could endanger officers and public safety.

In September, the Board of Immigration Appeals reopened his long-dormant removal case and issued a final deportation order; on Tuesday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit declined to stay that order, clearing the way for removal. In the days before the flight, Guevara was moved from Georgia to a Louisiana facility for transfer, according to family members and advocates.

His attorneys and groups, including the ACLU, the Committee to Protect Journalists, and Reporters Without Borders, condemned the outcome and said he was the only U.S.-based journalist then detained in connection with newsgathering activity, describing the case as retaliation that will deter coverage of police operations.

Homeland Security officials and ICE countered that the detention and deportation were based solely on immigration status, not his reporting.

Guevara leaves behind his wife and three U.S. citizen children—one with significant medical needs—as supporters in Atlanta organize legal and humanitarian assistance while counsel explores any remaining avenues to challenge the ban on his return.

Sources: The Guardian, Wall Street Journal, BBC News