ICE Arrested Journalist In Nashville Without Warrant, Her Lawyers Say | EUROtoday

WASHINGTON, March 5 (Reuters) – A reporter working for native information outlet Nashville Noticias was arrested by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Nashville and not using a warrant, an emergency petition filed by her attorneys in federal courtroom mentioned.

Nashville Noticias mentioned on Thursday the journalist, Estefany Maria Rodriguez Flores, was taken to an ICE detention middle and remained in custody. ICE didn’t reply to a request for remark.

Rodriguez Flores is from Colombia, has lived within the U.S. for 5 years, and “frequently reports on stories critical of ICE,” her attorneys mentioned in a courtroom submitting within the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee.

The media outlet mentioned the reporter was along with her husband exterior a gymnasium on Wednesday when the automobile they had been in, which was marked with the Nashville Noticias emblem, was surrounded and he or she was detained.

U.S. District Judge Eli Richardson directed federal immigration officers to present their preliminary response to the emergency petition by Friday. Rodriguez Flores had a gathering scheduled for March 17 with ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations, her attorneys mentioned.

ICE has been on the coronary heart of President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown that rights advocates say violates free speech and due course of rights.

Human rights teams say it has made the surroundings unsafe for residents and immigrants, particularly after two separate January deadly shootings of U.S. residents by federal brokers in Minnesota.

Around the nation, a minimum of eight individuals have died in ICE detention facilities for the reason that begin of 2026, following a minimum of 31 deaths final yr.

Trump has mentioned his insurance policies purpose to curb unlawful immigration and enhance home safety.

Rodriguez Flores arrived within the U.S. on a vacationer visa, filed for political asylum, subsequently married a U.S. citizen and has a sound work allow, the submitting mentioned. She and her husband have filed for permission to regulate her standing to lawful everlasting resident, it added.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Kate Mayberry)