An influential Spanish-language reporter in metro Atlanta was hit with new criminal charges on Thursday, one day after he was transferred into the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Currently held in South Georgia’s Folkston ICE Processing Center — an immigrant jail slated to soon become the nation’s largest — Mario Guevara will have to fight in deportation court for the right to remain in the country, following a long career reporting on immigration arrests across metro Atlanta.
The new criminal charges come from the Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office, and are unrelated to Guevara’s arrest at a Saturday protest in DeKalb, which paved the way for his transfer to ICE. They seem to be connected to Guevara’s daily routine as a reporter, which consisted of following immigration agents around in his truck while livestreaming for a mass audience on social media.
According to the GCSO, three charges were filed against Guevara in Gwinnett, “for distracted driving, failure to obey traffic control device, and reckless driving.” All are misdemeanors.
The sheriff’s office did not immediately respond to a request from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution seeking comment and records related to the charges were not available.
They follow three misdemeanor charges filed against the journalist in DeKalb County in connection with his behavior at Saturday’s protest: obstruction of law enforcement, unlawful assembly and pedestrian walking on or along a roadway.
It’s unclear what the new charges could mean for Guevara’s ability to be granted a bond out of ICE detention — or for his immigration case overall.
Guevara’s attorneys did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the AJC.
Although Guevara, a Salvadoran native, has work authorization and a path to a green card through his U.S. citizen son, he still lacks permanent legal status in the country.
In 2012, a court denied Guevara’s application for asylum and ordered him deported, but the journalist went on to benefit from administrative closure, a legal procedure that allows an immigration judge to temporarily suspend removal proceedings.
-AJC Staff Writer Rosana Hughes contributed to this report.
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