Mario Guevara To Be Deported After Appeals Court Denies Stay

ATLANTA — Mario Guevara, an Emmy-winning journalist detained by ICE in retaliation for his livestreaming of law enforcement activity, is being deported tomorrow to El Salvador.

On Tuesday, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals denied an emergency request for a stay on a final order of removal from the Board of Immigration Appeals. His family, including his wife and three children, were not given the opportunity to say goodbye to their father in person. Mario has been transferred to a facility in Louisiana after spending over 100 days in ICE detention and will go directly from detention onto a plane to El Salvador.

“Words cannot begin to describe the loss and devastation my family feels. I am in utter shock and disbelief the government has punished my father for simply doing his life’s work of journalism,” said Oscar Guevara, son of Mario Guevara. “My father should have never had to face over 100 days in detention. He is the center of our family. He is the reason our home feels like home. To me, he’s my rock, and I don’t know what life without him here will look like now that he will be deported. When I was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2021, it was my dad who centered me, who drove me to my medical appointments, and who lifted me up. Now, I will have to manage my health care on my own, and live thousands of miles away separated from him. My family has been torn apart for no good reason, and I can only hope that we can one day be reunited.”

Mr. Guevara was arrested by local law enforcement while reporting at a “No Kings” protest in June. Even though the charges were quickly dismissed and an immigration judge ordered his release on bond, ICE refused to release him on grounds that his reporting on law enforcement activity is dangerous. He spent over 100 days in ICE detention in retaliation for his journalism. He was the only journalist in detention in the United States for his reporting. As the founder and primary reporter of MG News, he frequently documented ICE raids and other law enforcement activity and had authorization to work in the United States.

“The government kept Mario unlawfully detained for weeks because of his vital reporting on law enforcement activity. His deportation is a devastating and tragic outcome for a father and celebrated journalist,” said Scarlet Kim, senior staff attorney with the ACLU’s Speech, Privacy, & Technology Project. “Journalists should not have to fear government retaliation, including prolonged detention, for reporting on government activity, and showing up to work should not result in your family being torn apart. Mario’s treatment should terrify any person in this country that cares about a free press.”

The Eleventh Circuit’s denial comes after the Board of Immigration Appeals granted the government’s motion to reopen removal proceedings from thirteen years ago, denied Mario’s request to seek a green card for which he is eligible, and entered a final order of removal. Mr. Guevara’s son, who has overseen MGNews in Mr. Guevara’s absence, relies on his father for physical and emotional support after suffering a stroke while undergoing an operation for a brain tumor several years ago.

The ACLU and ACLU of Georgia previously sought Mr. Guevara’s release from retaliatory detention in a federal district court and asked the court in two emergency motions to release him. The court never decided either request.

“Mr. Guevara's deportation marks a sad day in Georgia where the rule of law is disregarded for a cruel and unjust policy,” said Andres Lopez-Delgado, senior attorney with the ACLU of Georgia.

The American Civil Liberties Union; the ACLU 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 August 20 in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia, arguing that Mr. Guevara’s continued detention violated the First and Fifth Amendments. The petition argues that his continued detention was retaliatory, amounted to a prior restraint on his future speech and reporting, and violates due process.