SPJ joined the Committee to Protect Journalists and a coalition of local and national press freedom and civil liberties organizations in a letter to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security,”expressing deep concern over the detention of Spanish-language journalist Mario Guevara. The letter demands his release on bond and calls for the three misdemeanor charges against him to be dropped immediately, as they violate his First Amendment rights,” SPJ said in a June 20 statement.
A regional Emmy Award-winning Salvadoran journalist, Guevara “frequently covers immigration issues on his ‘MGnews’ Facebook page and other social media platforms. He was taken into custody June 14 while live-streaming a protest in the suburbs of Atlanta. The demonstration, organized by the ‘No Kings’ movement, opposes policies tied to the Trump administration,” according to the statement.
Immigration officials told WAGA-TV, an Atlanta television station called Fox 5 Atlanta, that Guevara is in the country illegally. “They said (Guevara) overstayed his visa and was ordered to leave the U.S. by an immigration judge in 2012. His legal team acknowledges that he does not have current legal immigration status, but argues he is authorized to work in the country,” according to a June 19 Fox5 Atlanta story.
Atlanta skyline; image from Pixabay
SPJ: Phoenix, Arizona Chapter 