October 3, 2025 – The National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ) expresses concern over the deportation of journalist Mario Guevara and rejects any efforts to deter lawful news coverage of law-enforcement activities.
Guevara, who has covered immigration issues in the Atlanta area for 20 years, was detained by local law enforcement while livestreaming a local protest on June 14, even though the First Amendment protects the right to film law-enforcement activities taking place in public.
A judge ordered him released on bond two days later, but Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) issued a detainer against him.
Guevara arrived legally in the United States from El Salvador in April 2004, and applied for asylum in 2005, citing dangers he faced as a journalist in El Salvador. He was in the country legally at the time of his arrest, with a path to a green card through his U.S.-citizen son.
Guevara, who had no prior criminal record, faced two sets of misdemeanor charges. The first, by DeKalb county, were connected with his arrest. Then Gwinnett County charged him with three traffic violations. Both sets of misdemeanor charges were subsequently dropped, but immigration officials refused to release him.
In his immigration court hearing, on July 1, the government argued that livestreaming presented a danger to the public by compromising the integrity and safety of law-enforcement activities. NAHJ, along with other press freedom organizations, firmly disagrees with this characterization, emphasizing that such reasoning sets a troubling precedent for journalistic transparency and accountability.
“The First Amendment has consistently upheld the public’s right to document law enforcement activities in public spaces as a vital mechanism for government accountability,” said NAHJ President Dunia Elvir. “The detention of Mario Guevara represents a troubling departure from these principles, and his deportation is deeply concerning.”
In September, the Immigration Board of Appeals reopened Guevara’s 13-year immigration case and ordered him deported to El Salvador. It argued that Guevara had not posted an immigration bond at the time of his asylum application, a charge the ACLU disputed with a copy of the bond receipt.
On Oct. 1, the court affirmed Guevara’s First Amendment rights, but cited his failure to file certain immigration documents as the reason for denying Guevara’s motion for stay of his removal. He was deported on Friday, Oct. 3 back to his native El Salvador.
The Committee to Protect Journalists has compiled a detailed timeline of Guevara’s time in custody including links to supporting news reports and documents.
–
Press contact: Andrew Sherry, asherry@nahj.org, (315) 954-7571
About the National Association of Hispanic Journalists
The National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ) is the largest organization of Latino journalists in the United States and is dedicated to the recognition and professional advancement of Hispanics in the news industry. Established in April 1984, NAHJ created a national voice and unified vision for all Hispanic journalists. The mission of NAHJ is to increase the number of Latinos in newsrooms and to work toward fair and accurate representation of Latinos in news media. NAHJ has more than 3,500 members, including working journalists, journalism students, other media-related professionals, and journalism educators. For more information, please visit NAHJ.org or follow us on X @NAHJ.