Holy smokes, y’all. I highly recommend this New Yorker article on the life and times of Mario Guevara, an El Salvadoran national who reports on immigration in the Atlanta area.

In his 20s, Guevara was a reporter in El Salvador. He and his family fled El Salvador for the US in 2004. Guevara applied for asylum, which was denied. (Check out this throw back Bill Hing post on the issue in 2012!) His case was subject to administrative closure. Guevara continued to live and work in the US and ultimately applied for LPR status via his US-born son.

In the meantime, Guevara continued his career as a journalist–working for the Altanta Latino, then Mundo Hispánico, and finally his own company, MGNews. His specialty became local (Atlanta) immigration enforcement. He would live-stream ICE raids around the city.

Guevara’s work caught the attention of the New York Times and became the subject of a 2019 mini-documentary called Boca del Lobo (literally mouth of the wolf or into the mouth of the wolf — an expression like entering the lion’s den). The documentary clocks in a 13:50 and would be amazing to include in your immigration or crimmigration course. The video shows real ICE actions (wearing “police” signs not “ICE” as per usual), as well as Guevara’s interview of affected families including a kid who was told he’d be taken into custody with his dad unless someone came to take care of him. It discusses how a traffic stop can lead to arrest for driving without a license and then jail and then an ICE detainer. In addition to the great substance of the video, I think it’s good for students to see Guevara because he’s a physical contradiction of the Latino migrant caricature–light skinned, light haired, light eyed. He alone is an introduction to the concept of race as a social construct.

Near the end of the documentary, asround 12:18, Guevara says “I understand that fear. Sometimes I think I’ll be next.” 

Enter the New Yorker piece. 

Guevara was arrested on June 14 while live-streaming a No Kings protest. The New Yorker writes: 

A group of local police officers closed in on him, and, while he loudly identified himself as “a member of the media,” they arrested him. He “is very, very well known in the community, even with these jurisdictions and these police officers . . . It’s hard to believe they didn’t know who he was,” Díaz, his lawyer, said during the press conference.

Guevara was taken to jail and charged with

three misdemeanors: obstruction of law-enforcement officers, unlawful assembly, and pedestrian improperly entering roadway. A few days later, three additional misdemeanor charges were filed in Gwinnett County—for ignoring traffic signs, using a communication device while driving, and reckless driving—which stemmed from an incident in May, in which, according to Díaz, Guevara was recording law-enforcement operations.

On January 18, Guevara was handed over to ICE. He is now in immigration detention pending removal.

-KitJ