DeKalb County

Deported by US, journalist Mario Guevara arrives in El Salvador

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — Emmy Award-winning Hispanic journalist Mario Guevara was deported to El Salvador Friday after a federal judge denied his emergency order to stay in the United States.

He arrived in El Salvador and gave a press conference that was broadcast on social media, where he talked about his feelings about being back in El Salvador and his four months of incarceration.

Guevara also had a tearful reunion with his mom.

He looked toward the sky and said, “My country, my country, my country. Thank God. This isn’t how I wanted to come to my country, but thank God.”

He posted a photo Facebook of himself in a restaurant with a plate of pupusas, El Salvador’s signature dish. In another post, declared himself “ready to continue working twice as hard from my country.”

Guevara, who has covered numerous protests in Metro Atlanta over the past 20 years, was arrested on June 14 during a protest in DeKalb County against the Trump administration.

Channel 2’s Tyisha Fernandes was live in DeKalb County for Channel 2 Action News at 6:00.

Although DeKalb County police dropped the charges of obstructing the road, Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained Guevara, claiming he did not complete paperwork for permanent residency.

One of his kids is on the way to El Salvador now to be with him during the beginning of this.

Channel 2 spoke to several people off camera, who were afraid to comment on this.

But one woman said despite the current fear, folks need to speak.

A woman named Essence, speaking on condition of anonymity, commented on the situation, saying, “Practically he’s going back to a place he doesn’t know – so I hope they think about that when they’re sending innocent people back to a country they don’t know."

His children hoped speaking out at the Capitol back in July would change things.

Oscar Guevara, Mario Guevara’s son, expressed frustration, stating, “My dad has been in the U.S. for more than 20 years, he pays taxes, he follows the law. He raised a family here, and yet despite having no charges against him he’s still sitting in a cell as if he’s a threat.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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