Washington, D.C., July 7, 2025— The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) authorities to respect an immigration court ruling and release on bail journalist Mario Guevara, a native of El Salvador who has been legally in the U.S. for the past 20 years.
On Monday, ICE denied Guevara’s bail and listed him as “Not Releasable,” though a judge on July 1 ruled that Guevara could be released on a $7,500 bond, according to a copy of the denial reviewed by CPJ.
At around 4:30 p.m. local time on Monday, Floyd County jail officials told CPJ that Guevara had been taken by ICE from the Floyd County Jail in Rome, Georgia, though they said they did not know where he was being taken.
Telemundo Atlanta reported on Monday morning that the activist group Indivisible had scheduled a protest for 6 p.m. that day at the jail.
“We are dismayed that immigration officials have decided to ignore a federal immigration court order last week granting bail to journalist Mario Guevara,” said CPJ U.S., Canada and Caribbean Program Coordinator Katherine Jacobsen. “Guevara is currently the only jailed journalist in the United States who was arrested in relation to his work. Immigration authorities must respect the law and release him on bail instead of bouncing him from one jurisdiction to another.”
The journalist, who was initially arrested while covering a June 14 “No Kings” protest in the Atlanta metro area and charged with three misdemeanors, which local officials declined to prosecute due to insufficient evidence. A local judge ordered Guevara to be released on bond, but he remained in custody after ICE opened a detainer against him.
The Department of Homeland Security headquarters and the department’s Atlanta field office did not immediately respond to CPJ’s emailed request for comment.
This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by CPJ Staff.
CPJ Staff | Radio Free (2025-07-07T21:16:31+00:00) ICE defies court, says journalist Mario Guevara ‘not releasable’. Retrieved from https://www.radiofree.org/2025/07/07/ice-defies-court-says-journalist-mario-guevara-not-releasable/
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