US expels Salvadoran journalist covering Atlanta protest over migrant arrests

Mario Guevara, a 48-year-old Spanish-language journalist, was deported on Friday to El Salvador after spending nearly four months in immigration detention in Georgia. Guevara, who had lived in the US for two decades, was arrested on 14 June while covering a protest near Atlanta and later handed over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

In a live Facebook video posted after his return, Guevara was seen escorted by Salvadoran officials, greeting his mother and expressing gratitude to God. He later shared photos of himself enjoying pupusas, a national dish, and pledged to continue working “twice as hard” from his home country. His deportation followed a ruling by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, which declined to block a deportation order issued last month by the Board of Immigration Appeals.

Arrest, legal battles and Press freedom concerns

Guevara’s arrest and detention drew widespread criticism from journalism and civil liberties groups. The Committee to Protect Journalists described the deportation as a “troubling sign” for press freedom, marking the first time the organisation has documented such retaliation against a reporter in the US. Authorities, however, rejected claims that Guevara was targeted for his work, stating he was living in the country illegally.

In an email Friday to AFP, the Department of Homeland Security called Guevara an “illegal alien” with a removal order from an immigration judge pending since 2012.

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“I was deported not for being a criminal,” the 48-year-old journalist, who won an Emmy award for his reporting in 2023, said on arriving back in El Salvador, visibly exhausted, his eyes filling with tears.

What “cost me,” he said, was “the fact that I reported on…the injust arrests (of migrants) that were taking place.”

Video from his arrest shows Guevara wearing a vest marked “PRESS” while standing with other reporters, telling officers he was a member of the media. Charges filed against him in both DeKalb and Gwinnett counties were dismissed by local prosecutors. Although an immigration judge granted him bond in July, he remained in custody during government appeals.

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Guevara’s immigration history dates back to 2012, when his attempt to remain in the US was denied but later left unresolved. His lawyers argued that he had work and residency authorisation for 13 years and currently has a pending visa application supported by his US citizen son. Despite these claims, the Board of Immigration Appeals reopened his case, dismissed his appeal, and ordered deportation. His lawyers took the matter to the 11th Circuit, which refused to halt the deportation order.

A separate case challenging the constitutionality of his detention remains active in federal court, where his attorneys argue he was punished for his journalism and unlawfully held in retaliation for his reporting.

(With agency inputs)