Several organizations dedicated to preserving free speech and protecting members of the press are calling for the release of a prominent immigration reporter who was detained while covering a protest in Atlanta earlier this month and is now on track to be deported.
Mario Guevara, an Emmy-award winning Spanish language reporter based in metro Atlanta, was initially charged with improperly entering a roadway, obstruction of law enforcement officers and unlawful assembly, all of which were misdemeanors. An immigrant from El Salvador, Guevara had been a legal resident of the U.S. for more than 20 years. However, the misdemeanor charges after his arrest allowed Immigration and Customs Enforcement to place a detainer on him, paving the way for a potential deportation.
He was later transferred into ICE custody and charged with three additional misdemeanors from the Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office for distracted driving, failure to obey a traffic control device, and reckless driving, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
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