ATLANTA – Mario Guevara, an Emmy-winning journalist detained by ICE for more than 100 days in what advocates say is retaliation for his reporting on law enforcement, is set to be deported Friday to El Salvador after the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals denied his emergency request for a stay of removal, according to a release by the ACLU.
The ACLU explained that Guevara, founder and lead reporter of MG News, was arrested while livestreaming law enforcement activity at the “No Kings” protest in June. Although the charges were dismissed and an immigration judge granted him bond, ICE refused to release him, claiming his reporting was dangerous.
The organization argued that Guevara was the only journalist in the United States detained in retaliation for his reporting and that he was transferred to Louisiana this week for immediate deportation.
“Words cannot begin to describe the loss and devastation my family feels,” said Oscar Guevara, son of Mario Guevara, in a statement. “The government has punished my father for simply doing his life’s work of journalism. He is my rock, and when I was diagnosed with a brain tumor, it was my dad who drove me to medical appointments and kept me strong. Now, I will have to live without him while managing my health on my own.”
According to the ACLU, DHS agents targeted Guevara’s reporting and justified his detention by alleging it posed public safety concerns. The press release noted that the Board of Immigration Appeals reopened removal proceedings from 13 years ago, denied Guevara’s green card application despite his eligibility, and entered a final removal order. The ACLU highlighted that these decisions compounded the suffering of his family, who were not allowed to say goodbye before his transfer.
Scarlet Kim, senior staff attorney with the ACLU’s Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project, said in the release that Guevara’s deportation is both retaliatory and alarming for press freedoms.
“The government kept Mario unlawfully detained for weeks because of his vital reporting on law enforcement activity. His deportation is a devastating and tragic outcome for a father and celebrated journalist,” Kim said.
The ACLU further reported that Guevara’s son, who oversees MG News in his father’s absence, relies on his father for physical and emotional care after suffering a stroke during brain surgery. The organization underscored that the deportation threatens to destabilize not only Guevara’s family but also his news outlet, which has played a crucial role in exposing immigration raids.
According to the ACLU of Georgia, the organization filed multiple motions in federal district court to challenge Guevara’s retaliatory detention but never received a ruling.
“Mr. Guevara’s deportation marks a sad day in Georgia where the rule of law is disregarded for a cruel and unjust policy,” said Andres Lopez-Delgado, senior attorney with the ACLU of Georgia, in the release.
The ACLU partnered with the ACLU of Georgia, the University of Georgia School of Law’s First Amendment Clinic, Garland, Samuel & Loeb, P.C., and Diaz & Gaeta Law, LLC to file a habeas petition in August.
The petition argued that Guevara’s detention violated the First and Fifth Amendments by retaliating against his speech, restraining his future reporting, and denying due process.
According to the ACLU, the petition was part of a broader strategy to challenge ICE’s retaliation against journalists and to defend constitutional rights in immigration enforcement contexts.
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