Journalist Detained by ICE for Livestreaming Law Enforcement Activity Files for Immediate Release

Mario Guevara is the only journalist in detention in retaliation for his reporting in the United States

Affiliate: Ƶ of Georgia
August 21, 2025 9:48 am

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ATLANTA – A prominent Georgia journalist has filed for immediate release from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody following his arrest while reporting at a “No Kings” rally in June. Mario Guevara has been covering immigration and other law enforcement activity in the Atlanta area for over 20 years, including as the founder of Spanish-speaking outlet MG News, and his reporting is followed by hundreds of thousands of viewers.

Mr. Guevara was granted bond by an immigration judge on July 1, but he remains detained. ICE has argued that he is a danger to the community specifically because he livestreams and reports on law enforcement activities. Documenting law enforcement activity is protected by the First Amendment.

“Mario Guevara is being detained solely because of his journalism — specifically his livestreaming of immigration and other law enforcement officials,” said Scarlet Kim, senior staff attorney with the Ƶ’s Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project. “Documenting what government actors do in public is fully protected by the First Amendment, yet those activities are exactly what the government claims makes Mario a danger to society. His detention on this basis is unlawful and sends a chilling message to other journalists, particularly non-citizen journalists, that they will also face retaliation if they report on public officials. We ask the court to reject this egregious suppression of protected press activity and order Mr. Guevara’s immediate release.”

Mr. Guevara has lived in the United States since 2004. He has three children, two of whom are U.S. citizens and one of whom depends on him for long-term medical care. He has a pathway to citizenship through a pending petition from his U.S. citizen son and is legally authorized to live and work in the United States.

“My father is a dedicated journalist who is motivated only by his desire to help others in our community,” said Katherine Guevara, Mario Guevara’s daughter. “For over 50 days, we have been searching for answers while he languishes in detention as punishment for that sense of duty and care. He needs to be allowed to come home to his family immediately.”

Mr. Guevara was standing with other journalists and wearing a vest that identified him as a member of the press when he was arrested on June 14 in DeKalb County while covering a “No Kings” protest. Shortly after his arrest, prosecutors dropped the criminal charges stemming from his presence at the protest, having concluded that he was complying with law enforcement directives, and an immigration judge granted bond on July 1. When his family tried to pay the bond, however, ICE officials refused to release him and instead transferred him to Gwinnett County after the Gwinnett County Sherriff’s Office filed traffic violation charges. Those charges were also dropped shortly thereafter. Mr. Guevara nevertheless remains in custody, in isolation, as ICE appeals his release on bond to the Board of Immigration Appeals. He is currently being held at Folkston ICE Processing Center in southeastern Georgia, over four hours away from his family – the fifth place he has been held in the two months since his detention.

“Journalism is not a threat to the community, it is fundamental to our democracy,” said Cory Isaacson, legal director at the Ƶ of Georgia. “Like other Georgia journalists every day, Mario Guevara serves the people of our state with his reporting, and the First Amendment demands that he be able to do so without fear of being locked up in retaliation. Mr. Guevara is detained in violation of his rights to free speech and a free press, and we are hopeful Mr. Guevara will soon be released.”

The Ƶ; the Ƶ of Georgia; the University of Georgia School of Law’s First Amendment Clinic; Garland, Samuel & Loeb, P.C.; and Diaz & Gaeta Law, LLC filed a habeas petition on Wednesday in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia, arguing that Mr. Guevara’s continued detention violates the First and Fifth Amendments. The petition argues that his continued detention is retaliatory, amounts to a prior restraint on his future speech and reporting, and violates due process.

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