Coalition of 41 Press-Freedom Groups Calls for Immediate Release of Nashville-Based Journalist Arrested by ICE
Rodriguez’s attorneys have filed an emergency petition, seeking an immediate review of whether her detention is legal
WASHINGTON — On Tuesday, a coalition of 41 press-freedom groups demanded that the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) immediately release journalist Estefany Rodriguez.
ICE failed to produce a warrant when Rodriguez, a Colombian-born reporter, was arrested on March 4, 2026. She has been in ICE custody since, moving between detention facilities with her current whereabouts likely in Alabama but unclear.
Rodriguez had fled to the United States in 2021 after facing threats for her coverage of Colombia’s armed militia groups. She has since applied for political asylum in the United States, and has a pending green card application through her husband, who is a U.S. citizen. Rodriguez had covered immigration, including ICE actions, for the local Spanish-language news site Nashville Noticias.
“Rodriguez’s detention is part of a broader erosion of democratic norms and human rights in the United States in which immigration authorities are increasingly being used to chill free expression and First Amendment rights,” reads the coalition statement, which was signed by groups including Amnesty International USA, Association of Foreign Press Correspondents, Committee for the First Amendment, Committee to Protect Journalists, Fundación para la Libertad de Prensa, Free Press, Freedom of the Press Foundation, Media and Democracy Project, National Writers Union, PEN America, Reporters Without Borders and the Society of Professional Journalists.
Free Press Senior Counsel Nora Benavidez said:
“The U.S. government is relentless in its attacks on dissent. Estefany Rodriguez was in a marked news van when she was taken by ICE, having fearlessly covered immigration for local Nashville audiences for months. It is no surprise that ICE arrested her. This follows the government’s effort to silence independent reporting and public awareness on critical issues of the day. It deported journalist Mario Guevara for filming a protest; it leveled bogus criminal conspiracy charges against Don Lemon and Georgia Fort for covering a church protest; it detained students indefinitely for speaking out on behalf of Palestinian rights. This censorship campaign flies in the face of our core, founding principles to protect free speech and the Fourth Estate.
“Free Press has analyzed hundreds of Trump administration attacks designed to undermine First Amendment rights. Estefany Rodriguez is the latest to be caught up in this government-led campaign of censorship and control. She must be released from detention immediately.”
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