Mario Guevara, an Emmy Award-winning journalist from El Salvador, was deported after being held in ICE custody for nearly 100 days following his arrest while covering the No Kings Day protests against the Trump administration in Atlanta. Before his deportation, Guevara was transferred to a detention facility in Louisiana, where he was denied the chance to say goodbye to his family.
He was deported on Friday on a 4:00 a.m. flight to El Salvador. Although he had been exonerated of the charges related to his reporting, this was not enough to secure his release. Guevara’s lawyers stated that he held a valid work permit and was in the process of regularizing his immigration status with the support of his son, a U.S. citizen.
In a letter written from detention, Guevara said, “If they deport me, I’ll leave with my head held high… but with a broken heart.”
Later that same day, a live video showed his arrival in El Salvador, escorted by officers and greeted by his family.
Looking up to the sky, he said, “My country, my country, my country. Thank God. This isn’t how I wanted to return to my country, but thank God.”
Shortly after, Guevara shared a photo of himself with his reporting equipment, writing that he was “ready to continue working twice as hard from my country.”
At Free Press Alliance, we condemn Guevara’s deportation, a troubling sign of the ongoing deterioration of press freedom in the United States.