2 months ago
The Nashville journalist who was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) earlier this period was released from a Louisiana detention halfway connected Thursday aft spending 15 days successful custody.
Estefany Rodríguez, who covers migration and different topics for nan outlet Nashville Noticias, was detained successful Nashville connected 4 March and spent a week astatine a region jailhouse successful Alabama earlier being transferred to a detention installation successful Louisiana. Her lawyers said Rodríguez was detained without warrant.
The journalist, 35, was calved successful Colombia and came to nan US 5 years agone pinch a valid activity permit. She had applied for asylum successful nan US, arsenic she had fled threats related to her activity successful her location country. She besides applied for a greenish paper aft her matrimony to a US citizen.
The authorities has denied that she was arrested without a warrant, and DHS officials antecedently said she was arrested because her tourer visa expired successful 2021.
While detained, guards placed her successful isolation for 5 days, believing she had contracted lice. According to tribunal documents, officials made her portion naked and poured a cleaning liquid that Rodríguez believed to beryllium a level cleaner, complete her head, causing burning successful her eyes.
She was not allowed to interaction her attorneys while detained successful Alabama, her attorneys said, and was only capable to interaction her ineligible squad aft 10 days successful detention.
“Today we observe that Estefany has been released from nan ICE detention halfway successful Louisiana and is connected her measurement location to beryllium pinch her family,” Mike Holley, an lawyer pinch nan Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition representing Rodríguez’s habeas lawsuit successful national court, said via a statement.
“We are grateful that Estefany is capable to locomotion distant pinch her state to beryllium pinch her family arsenic she continues to conflict for her correct to stay successful her organization and successful nan US.”
Rodríguez was released aft a judge granted her a $10,000 bond.
Rodríguez’s detention has raised siren among property state and migration advocates. In tribunal documents, her lawyers noted she had been covering ICE, including nan agency’s workplace raids and wide arrests, and alleged she had been targeted because of her work.
She had reported connected migration arrests astatine a postulation tribunal a time earlier she was detained herself, aft agents surrounded her car – which was marked pinch a Nashville Noticias logo.
In January, erstwhile CNN anchor Don Lemon and an independent Minnesota journalist, Georgia Fort were arrested by national agents aft they covered an anti-ICE protestation astatine a religion successful Minnesota.
Various world organizations including nan Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) had called for her release.
“We are heartened to spot that Estefany Rodríguez was ordered to beryllium released from Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody astatine her enslaved proceeding but are concerned that her enslaved is unusually high,” said Katherine Jacobsen, CPJ’s programme coordinator for nan United States, Canada, and nan Caribbean, successful a connection earlier this week.
