Journalist Mario Guevara to be deported from US in unprecedented case 

Washington, D.C., October 2, 2025—In response to news that journalist Mario Guevara will be deported on Friday from the United States back to his native El Salvador, the Committee to Protect Journalists and Free Press issued the following statements:  

“Mario Guevara’s deportation is a troubling sign of the deteriorating freedom of the press under the Trump administration,” said CPJ U.S., Canada, and Caribbean Program Coordinator Katherine Jacobsen. “Make no mistake, this is not a simple immigration case as authorities would have the public believe. Guevara was first detained in retaliation for his reporting and throughout his prolonged detention the government argued that he was being held because his livestreaming activity posed a danger to law enforcement activity. It is shameful that the U.S. government is deporting Guevara, the first time that CPJ has documented this type of retaliation related to reporting activity.”  

“This case is chilling for us all,” said Free Press’ senior counsel Nora Benavidez. “And that’s the point — the administration will stop at nothing, not even the First Amendment, to bully people into silence. A court just ruled that the Trump administration engaged in a campaign of censorship by detaining and trying to deport students supporting Palestinian rights. Mario Guevara was here legally in the country, yet similarly he was targeted for removal because the government disliked him exercising his First Amendment rights. It’s devastating to see this administration abandon the core press freedom principles the United States was founded on.”

Guevara’s son made public that his father’s deportation is set for this Friday during a Thursday Facebook live broadcast.

The court denied Guevara’s motion for reconsideration of Wednesday’s appeals court decision, affirming the path for his imminent removal, according to court records.

An Emmy-winning, Spanish-language reporter who covers immigration, Guevara was arrested June 14 after livestreaming an Atlanta metro area “No Kings” protest against the Trump administration’s policies. The federal government has argued to continue Guevara’s detention on grounds that his filming of law enforcement activities created a risk to public safety.

For a full chronology of events in Guevara’s case, see CPJ’s timeline.