ATLANTA, Ga. — Salvadoran journalist Mario Guevara, who had been in immigration detention in Georgia since June, was deported Friday to El Salvador after being arrested while covering a protest in Atlanta this summer.
Guevara, 48, was documenting a demonstration against immigration enforcement on June 14 when local police detained him and turned him over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). All criminal charges stemming from his arrest in Georgia were later dismissed. His lawyers had been pursuing both immigration court and federal court avenues to secure his release.
In a video posted to Facebook after his return to El Salvador, Guevara was seen hugging relatives and saying, “Hello, Mom. My country, my country, my country. Thank God.” He also posted photos celebrating his return and declared himself “ready to continue working twice as hard from my country.”…