On March 4th, in a traffic checkpoint in the capital of Tennessee, the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested a Spanish-language journalist working for a local media outlet. She entered the country five years ago with a tourist visa, and ICE officials explained that after 2021, she was not authorized to continue staying in the U.S. on a tourist visa.
The journalist, Estefany Maria Rodriguez Florez, was arrested on March 4th in the capital of Tennessee. Florez’s lawyer has filed an emergency petition with the federal court. The petition states that Florez has been living in the U.S. for 5 years, currently working for Nashville Noticias, and was arrested without a judicial arrest warrant.
On March 6th, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) stated that the claims by the journalist’s lawyer were “completely incorrect”, and that Florez was indeed arrested with a valid administrative arrest warrant, known as a Warrant for Arrest of Alien. According to photos submitted to the court by DHS on March 6th, the arrest warrant was signed by an authorized immigration official, ordering Florez’s arrest for deportation proceedings.
The petition filed by Florez’s lawyer claims that Florez “has always followed clear instructions from ICE”.
However, records from the Department of Homeland Security show that Florez’s tourist visa status had expired. DHS explained that while Florez mentioned having a request for asylum or work permit, it “does not negate the fact that she is an undocumented immigrant”, therefore she should be detained pending a bond hearing, and as of the government’s response submission, she had not yet made that request.
A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security stated, “She will receive a full and fair legal process, and is currently in ICE custody awaiting the outcome of immigration proceedings.” Documents submitted to the court by DHS indicate that Florez is currently being held in the Etowah County Jail in northeast Alabama.