Mario Guevara, an Emmy award-winning, Spanish-language reporter in the Atlanta metro area who covers immigration, was arrested June 14, 2025, while livestreaming a “No Kings” protest against the Trump administration’s policies. Guevara was charged with three misdemeanors and then denied bond when Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) issued a detainer against him, despite being in the United States legally at the time of his arrest, according to his immigration attorney, Giovanni Diaz, and court documents seen by CPJ.
On October 3, 2025, Guevara was deported to El Salvador, the family told CPJ.
Prior to his deportation, Guevara had been transferred between local authorities and ICE detention, which CPJ documented in a timeline of events in his case. On October 1, 2025, the U.S. 11th Circuit Appeals court affirmed Guevara’s First Amendment rights but ultimately rejected a motion to keep Guevara in the country, citing his failure to file certain immigration documents.
On September 23, 2025, an immigration board issued a final removal order for Guevara, meaning he could be deported at any moment. The government has stated that Guevara did not post bond as part of his initial asylum case in 2012, a claim that is false, according to the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union).
Leading up to his deportation, Guevara was held at the Folkston ICE Processing Center in southwestern Georgia since July 10, despite that all misdemeanor charges against him were dropped. He was deported from an ICE transit hub in Louisiana, according to news reports.
The ACLU on August 21 filed a habeas petition in Guevara’s case, arguing that Guevara has been detained primarily on the basis of his journalism and his continued detention is a violation of his First and Fifth Amendment rights. CPJ filed a declaration in support of the habeas petition. At the time of Guevara’s deportation, the habeas petition was still in the courts.
During a July 1 hearing on Guevara’s immigration detention, the federal government opposed Guevara’s release from ICE custody, stating that his practice of recording and livestreaming law enforcement poses a danger to society. While the immigration court judge ordered Guevara released, the government on July 3 filed an appeal with the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) to stay the decision, which was granted on July 7.
Guevara’s arrest comes amid the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration and rising threats to journalists, which CPJ has documented.
Guevara arrived legally in the United States from El Salvador in April 2004, and applied for asylum in 2005 due to the dangers he faced as a journalist in his home country. Over the next 20 years, Guevara developed a large following in the Atlanta area, as well as received national attention, for his reporting on immigration issues.
CPJ’s emailed request to the Department of Homeland Security for an explanation on why Guevara remained in custody did not receive a reply.