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The Colombian journalist Estefany Rodríguez was released on bail after spending more than two weeks in detention by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the United States, in a case that has raised concerns among organizations advocating for press freedom and immigrant rights.
Rodríguez, a reporter for Nashville Noticias and contributor to Univision 42 in Tennessee, was arrested on March 4th in South Nashville while traveling in a vehicle marked with the logo of the media outlet for which she works.
His lawyer, Mike Holley, representative of the Coalition for the Rights of Immigrants and Refugees of Tennessee, confirmed to the agency EFE (quoted by Telemundo 51) the release from custody and stated that they will continue to defend her right to remain in the country.
The defense argues that the arrest is related to his journalistic work, as Rodríguez has focused on covering immigration issues in the United States. They also claim that the arrest was made without a court order, which violates his constitutional rights.
On the other hand, the ICE operation was carried out by armed officers, which has been questioned by the reporter's legal team, who consider it an excessive measure.
The detention occurred on the grounds that the journalist had not attended two scheduled appointments with immigration authorities regarding her asylum request.
However, her husband, a U.S. citizen, claims that one of the notifications never appeared in the official system, while the other coincided with a winter storm that made travel impossible.
After her arrest, Rodríguez was initially transferred to a detention center in Alabama and later to a facility in Louisiana, where she remained until her release on Thursday night.
The case has provoked a significant reaction from civil organizations.
A group of 41 entities defending press freedom sent a letter to ICE demanding his release, stating that his detention could violate the guarantees of the First Amendment.
Rodríguez, who is married to an American citizen and is the mother of an eight-year-old girl, had sought asylum after reporting death threats in Colombia in 2021, related to her journalistic work on armed groups.
Her immigration situation dates back to that same year when she entered the United States on a tourist visa. She later began the asylum process and, at the same time, was seeking to regularize her status through marriage. According to her defense, she has never faced formal charges in an immigration court.
The arrest occurred in the morning when several vehicles surrounded the car he was in with his husband, outside a gym in Nashville. Accounts gathered by those close to him describe a deployment of at least eight armed agents.
While the lawyers argue that there was no legal basis for his detention or risk of flight, immigration authorities maintain that Rodríguez has been residing in the country illegally since September 2021, following the expiration of his visa.
The case is also part of a broader context of tightening immigration policies and increased detentions by ICE, which has led to multiple lawsuits in federal courts.
Immigrant advocacy organizations warn that these practices increasingly affect Latino communities, including many Cubans.
Although Rodríguez is already out on bail, his legal situation is still ongoing and will be evaluated in upcoming court hearings.
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