More than a month after being arrested while covering a protest in Georgia, Salvadoran journalist Mario Guevara continues to be detained in an ICE detention center, despite the fact that all charges against him have been dismissed by local authorities.
This Tuesday, civil rights advocates, community activists and state legislators raised their voices at the Georgia Capitol, demanding his immediate release. The Salvadoran journalist’s children were also present.
A legitimate protest… with unexpected consequences
Mario Guevara was arrested on June 14, 2025 in DeKalb County, while broadcasting live for his media outlet MG News the nationwide No Kings Day protest, a movement opposing the immigration policies of the current Donald Trump administration.
He was wearing a vest with the word “PRESS” and had professional accreditation.
However, he was charged by Doraville police with “interfering with police functions” and “walking on the public highway”.
Shortly thereafter, neighboring Gwinnett County added other minor charges, such as reckless driving, based on a video of a previous weeks’ coverage.
Both cases were dismissed, but ICE not only kept him in detention, but he appealed the court order granting him bail to face his immigration proceedings at liberty.
Legislators and advocates speak out
During a press conference held Tuesday at the State Capitol in Atlanta, figures such as State Senator Joshua Ivan McLaurin warned that the prolonged detention of Mario Guevara represents a direct threat to press freedom and constitutional rights.
“It doesn’t matter if you agree or disagree with what he reports. It’s about your right to report and document what happens in our streets,” the legislator said.
José Zamora, director of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), pointed out that Guevara is, to date, the only journalist detained in the United States as a direct reprisal for his work as a journalist.
A worrisome pattern
Mario Guevara, of Salvadoran origin, has lived in the US since 2004.
He has stood out as one of the leading voices of immigration journalism in the South, reporting on raids, deportations and ICE operations from the heart of Latino communities.
His work has been key to giving visibility to cases that rarely reach the English-language media.
His lawyer, Giovanni Díaz, denounced that the journalist has been transferred between five different prisons since his arrest and that he remains in a medical section of the prison.
This despite being in good health, under what ICE describes as “special custody due to his public profile”.
“Mario has no criminal record. He does not represent any risk. His citizen son has already initiated the process for his residency. This is persecution,” stated attorney Diaz.
A cause that mobilizes the community
The case has raised alarms among Latino organizations, community media and citizens concerned about the growing climate of hostility against journalists who cover immigration issues.
In letters to the federal government, groups such as GALEO, Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights (GLAHR) and the Southern Poverty Law Center have asked ICE to respect due process and release Mario Guevara.
For now, ICE’s appeal is blocking the $7,000 bond payment authorized by an immigration judge in early July.
Meanwhile, Mario Guevara remains in ICE detention.
Solo quiero seguir trabajando, volver a informar, y apoyar a mi familia
Mario Guevara, en una carta pública dirigida a autoridades y colegas
