Spanish-language journalist arrested while covering protest near Atlanta deported to El Salvador

A Spanish-language journalist who had been in immigration detention in Georgia since June was deported Friday to El Salvador Mario Guevara was covering a protest just outside Atlanta on June when local police arrested him and then turned him over to U S Immigration and Customs Enforcement several days later His lawyers had been fighting parallel battles in the immigration court and federal court systems trying to get him issued In a live video posted on Facebook Friday afternoon Guevara is seen escorted by El Salvador establishment representatives exiting a conveyance and hugging a woman who pointed a camera phone at him Hello Mom he disclosed He looked toward the sky and mentioned My country my country my country Thank God This isn t how I craved to come to my country but thank God Guevara s deportation comes after the th U S Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday declined to put a hold on a deportation order issued last month by the Board of Immigration Appeals All criminal charges filed against Guevara since his arrest were dismissed by local prosecutors His attorneys argued that he was being held in retaliation for his work as a journalist and to silence him in violation of his constitutional rights Guevara fled El Salvador two decades ago out of fear and he amassed a big audience as a journalist in the Atlanta area He worked for Mundo Hispanico a Spanish-language newspaper for years before starting a digital news outlet called MG News a year ago He was livestreaming video on social media from a No Kings rally protesting President Donald Trump s administration when local police arrested him in DeKalb County He is known for arriving on the scene where ICE or other law enforcement agencies are functioning often after getting tips from group members He regularly livestreams what he is seeing on social media Video from his arrest shows Guevara wearing a bright red shirt under a protective vest with PRESS printed across his chest He could be heard telling a police officer I m a member of the media officer He was standing on a sidewalk with other journalists with no sign of big crowds or confrontations around him moments before he was taken away The charges against him in DeKalb County as well as other charges that were filed in neighboring Gwinnett County after his arrest were dismissed by prosecutors An immigration judge in July granted him bond but he remained in custody while the administration appealed that ruling An immigration scenario in denied Guevara s bid to remain in the U S He appealed that ruling to the Board of Immigration Appeals which hears appeals of immigration court rulings but that appeal had not been decided when prosecutors agreed to administratively close the development His lawyers say he has been authorized to live and work in the U S for the last years Shortly after Guevara entered ICE custody in June the administration inquired the Board of Immigration Appeals to reopen that old immigration episode His lawyers didn t oppose that move but they solicited that the situation be sent back to the lower immigration court because he now has a pending application for a visa supported by his adult U S citizen son The Board of Immigration Appeals last month agreed to reopen the incident dismissed Guevara s appeal and denied his request to return the circumstance to the lower immigration court It also ordered him deported to El Salvador and dismissed the ruling body s appeal of the bond ruling saying it is now moot Guevara s lawyers appealed to the th Circuit and questioned that court to halt the deportation order while the appeal was pending Guevara s lawyers argue that the Board of Immigration Appeals ruling and the subsequent refusal by the th Circuit to stay his deportation order are based on incorrect information A separate incident challenged the constitutionality of Guevara s detention in immigration custody and remains pending in a federal court His lawyers argued he was being punished for his journalism work and requested a judge to order him without delay disclosed and order that he not be deported while that development was pending Source