ICE takes custody of Spanish-language journalist arrested at Georgia protest

U.S. immigration authorities said Wednesday they have detained a Spanish-language journalist, who will face deportation proceedings following his arrest on charges of obstructing police and unlawful assembly while covering a weekend protest outside Atlanta.

Mario Guevara was turned over by police to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody three days after he was jailed in DeKalb County, agency spokesman Lindsay Williams said in an emailed statement. His case now goes to immigration court to determine whether Guevara, a native of El Salvador, can remain in the U.S.

His attorney, Giovanni Diaz, has said that Guevara was doing his job and committed no crime when police arrested him. He also says Guevara has legal authorization to live and work in the U.S., and has a pending application for permanent residency. Diaz did not immediately return phone and email messages Wednesday.

Guevara fled El Salvador two decades ago and built a large following as an independent journalist covering immigration in the Atlanta area. He was livestreaming video on social media Saturday from a DeKalb County rally protesting President Donald Trump’s administration when local police arrested him.

“I’m a member of the media, officer,” Guevara tells a police officer right before he’s arrested. The video shows Guevara wearing a bright red shirt under a protective vest with “PRESS” printed across his chest.

DeKalb County officials have said at least eight people were arrested during the Saturday demonstration, with police using tear gas to turn away protesters marching toward an interstate onramp. Guevara’s video shows him standing on a sidewalk with other journalists, with no sign of big crowds or confrontations around him, right before he’s arrested.

Jail records show Guevara was charged with obstructing police, unlawful assembly and improperly entering a roadway.

The Committee to Protect Journalists condemned Guevara’s arrest and detention by ICE.

“His ongoing detention signals a frightening erosion of press freedom in the U.S.,” Katherine Jacobsen, the group’s U.S. program coordinator, said in a statement.

ICE’s statement did not say why Guevara was being detained or where he would be held. Williams did not immediately respond to an email message asking those questions.

Guevara fled El Salvador with his family in 2004, saying he was beaten and repeatedly harassed because of his work as a political reporter for the newspaper La Prensa Grafica. They immigrated to Georgia, where Guevara worked as a reporter for Georgia’s largest Spanish-language newspaper, Mundo Hispanico, before launching his own online news site, MGNews.

An immigration judge in 2012 denied Guevara’s application for asylum and ordered him and his family to leave the country. However, ICE worked with Guevara’s lawyer to close his case without deporting anyone. Diaz said it was resolved with Guevara receiving authorization to continue working in the U.S.

Diaz has said Guevara has a strong case to remain in the U.S., though the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration crackdown has left the journalist’s family worried.

“Under this administration, we don’t know what that means for us,” Guevara’s adult daughter, Katherine Guevara, said during a Tuesday news conference. “Temporary legal status may not mean anything.”

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Bynum reported from Savannah, Georgia.