Journalist Mario Guevara from El Salvador is speaking out about being detained in an Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing center in southern Georgia.
Guevera, who left his homeland over 20 years ago and founded the Spanish-language news outlet MG News, was detained by ICE agents as he was reporting on a “No Kings” protest on June 14 in the Atlanta area. The 47-year-old reporter’s arrest was captured on video because he was live-streaming his news report as the incident occurred.
“I’m plainly convinced that my situation in this ICE jail is direct retaliation for my coverage,” Guevara recently told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I haven’t committed any crimes.”
After spending a month in ICE custody, Guevara has described himself as being “emotionally destroyed” by his ongoing detention.
He believes that he is being made an example of by the government to dissuade people from monitoring ICE activities.
“[T]hey want to send a message that people can’t be following ICE operatives or expose what’s happening,” he claimed.
On June 24, the Department of Homeland Security posted on X about Guevara’s situation.
“Mario Guevara, a Salvadoran national, is in ICE custody because he is in our country ILLEGALLY. Guevara was arrested by Dekalb County, Georgia police for willful OBSTRUCTION after he REFUSED to comply with local police orders to move out of the middle of the street,” the post claimed. “Following his arrest by local authorities, ICE placed a detainer on him. Following his release, he was turned over to ICE custody and has been placed in removal proceedings.”
Regarding Guevara’s residence status, his lawyer has noted that Guevara has a work permit and has a pathway to citizenship through the sponsorship of his adult son, who is a U.S. citizen.
Guevara has claimed that he is only allowed to be outside of his cell for two hours a day and that he was extorted by a fellow inmate, though ICE has not confirmed his claims.
“Everyone here knows me. One person even told me that I recorded his arrest. Imagine that,” Guevara said of his notoriety among his fellow inmates.
According to the journalist, his online followers have expressed that his coverage of the ongoing ICE raids is sorely missed.
“People are realizing that they have to be informed when there are raids happening on a daily basis,” he said. “It fills me with joy to know that my work had an impact. But I’m paying for that with my freedom. It’s a high price.”
Despite the joy he gets from informing his community about the latest news, Guevara plans on putting his reporting on hold if he were to be released from detention, due to his immigration status.
“I can’t put myself at risk,” he said. “Unless I become a U.S. citizen, my coverage will have to change.”
Guevara — who self-identified as being more ideologically aligned with the Republican party, in part because of his Christian values — said his detention has made him reconsider his political alignment.
“I was confident that Trump was a smart man who could help in terms of the economy of the country, and that he could help give a boost to moral values in the U.S.,” Guevara acknowledged. “[B]ut when he got into power, I realized that his ideology was completely different. It was simply persecution, persecution, persecution.”
He advised Latinos in the U.S. with the ability to vote to reconsider giving support to a man who continually acts “against our community.”
Guevara also expressed regrets about how he has prioritized work over family throughout his career.
“That may have been the biggest mistake of my life, because now I’m realizing that work is not more important than family. But I am no criminal,” he said. “My family needs me. I’m going to fight until the end.”
In a previous statement released from detention, Guevara said that being in ICE custody for a month has left him unable to support his family, including his son who has a special condition that leaves him in need of constant care and attention.