Mario Guevara is a veteran journalist with more than two decades of experience covering the United States for Spanish-language media. Now, after his July 3 arrest, he is being pursued by ICE in a legal battle to prevent deportation. Guevara is perhaps best known for his immersive reportage from the frontlines of immigration enforcement. His arrest took place during a live stream of a federal operation that was arresting undocumented targets. His arrest sparked anger and outcry, raising important concerns about the treatment of journalists working on immigration-related issues. It further exposes the broader threats to press freedom in the United States.
Guevara’s arrest took place on a Saturday. In doing so, he became one of the few journalists to chronicle the rising tide of immigration enforcement under the Trump administration. For the next three days, he’ll be stuck here, surrounded by peeling paint and the South’s busiest jail, according to lawsuits filed by sheriff’s employees. The next Monday, Guevara found himself in front of a judge at an unusual bond hearing. He was originally charged with three counts of misdemeanor failure to comply after an incident in May—about a month before his arrest.
His case is made even worse by his past encounters with ICE. The immigration court judge denied Guevara’s asylum claim and ordered him deported in 2012. Since then, he’s been incarcerated in a migrant detention jail in south Georgia. He is currently contesting the deportation order in addition to battling the threats from jailhouse extortionists. Even with help from his family, they aren’t able to pay his bond so he’s stuck. As of writing, government attorneys are appealing the order related to the bond to the Board of Immigration Appeals.
Guevara’s case underscores important and dangerous trends in the treatment of journalists. They need to move freely and safely to report on important issues without the threat of arrest or persecution. For more than a decade, he’s been bargaining with police departments and setting up access to the immigration enforcement scenes. Some call him the godfather of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Watchers, one of the most-subscribed-to journalists tracking ICE operations in the country.
Perhaps the most immediate responses to Guevara’s arrest have come from the police, themselves. As you can imagine, many observers are furious. They think it’s terrifying that someone like him, someone whose work as a journalist should have protected him from this ordeal. Katherine Jacobsen, a prominent advocate for press freedom, stated, “In this regard it’s particularly troubling, given that he is a journalist and his situation. He had no reason to have been targeted for his arrest.” She highlighted the clear timeline of events leading up to his arrest, noting, “The facts and the timeline indicate that pretty clearly to anybody that’s been following this.”
Guevara supporters packed the courthouse and made their presence known by loudly expressing their displeasure with police misconduct. Witnesses reported people shouting, “Why are you all taking him! He didn’t do nothing,” demonstrating public solidarity with Guevara during his ordeal.
As news of Guevara’s arrest spread, many began to reflect on the broader implications for journalists covering sensitive topics such as immigration enforcement. Fellow journalist Giovanni Díaz called Guevara’s ordeal an attack against journalism that should terrify anyone. “For the first time in my life, I’m seeing what absolute power can do,” he said. Díaz went on to drive home how deeply troubling unchecked power really is, saying this — Power that doesn’t give a f— about optics. Power has the ability to do permanent, irreversible damage to the lives of people when it seeks power for the sake of outcomes. I had only read about this idea as an abstract concept that existed long ago.
The environment surrounding Guevara’s arrest highlights an expanding sense of fear and confusion within Georgia’s most diverse county. As communities rally in opposition to harsh immigration policies, including the recent “No Kings Day” protests that saw over 100,000 participants in New York City alone, Guevara’s story serves as a stark reminder of the risks faced by journalists striving to tell important stories in an increasingly hostile climate.
James Talley was one of the officers in the law enforcement operation that led to Guevara’s arrest. Within that context, we have specifically directed our officers to monitor Guevara’s incident closely. “If he gets to the road, lock his ass up,” Talley was quoted as saying, underscoring the aggressive tactics employed against those documenting immigration enforcement.