CPJ calls on immigration authorities to release Tennessee-based journalist Estefany Rodriguez

Washington, D.C., March 6, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on immigration authorities to unconditionally release journalist Estefany Rodríguez, who was detained without warrant on March 4 despite being in the United States legally, according to news reports.

Rodríguez has reported on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity for Nashville Notícias. According to multiple reports, Rodríguez was detained in Nashville, Tennessee, by ICE agents in her car marked with “Nashville Notícias” branding. 

“The detention of Estefany Rodríguez by Department of Homeland Security agents is part of a shameful and alarming pattern of the Trump administration’s use of immigration authorities to clamp down on freedom of the press,” said CPJ U.S., Canada, and Caribbean Program Coordinator Katherine Jacobsen. “Rodríguez came to the United States seeking safety from death threats she received for her reporting in her native Colombia and was in the United States legally at the time of her detention. The United States has traditionally been a safe haven for journalists fleeing retaliation in connection with their work. With Rodríguez’s case, federal authorities have shown a cruel disregard for this tradition.”

Rodríguez came to the United States in 2021 from her native Colombia after receiving death threats in connection with her reporting. She arrived on a tourist visa and then sought asylum. In addition to a pending asylum case, the reporter has had a pending green card application  through her husband, who was present during her detention.

According to the Nashville Banner, Rodríguez was transported to a detention center and was being transferred to an ICE processing center in Louisiana as of Thursday. 

CPJ has previously reported on the case of Atlanta metro-area journalist Mario Guevara, who was deported to his native El Salvador, despite being in the country legally at the time of his detention. 

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees ICE, did not immediately reply to CPJ’s emailed request for comment.

CPJ has been documenting the ways in which DHS has been used to curb freedom of the press during the second Trump administration: 

• Journalists Don Lemon, Georgia Fort, and Junn Bollmann were charged with felony and misdemeanor charges in relation to their coverage of an anti-ICE demonstration at a St. Paul, MN church. Lemon and Fort have separately pleaded not guilty; Bollmann’s hearing has not taken place yet. 
• Journalists have reported being targeted by ICE agents while covering anti-ICE protests in Los Angeles last year, and the killings of two anti-ICE protesters by ICE agents in Minneapolis earlier this year have increased concerns about the safety of covering these demonstrations. 
• Immigration officials detained Chinese citizen journalist Guan Heng during an August 2025 raid in New York and sought his deportation to a third country, Uganda. Guan had previously sought asylum in the United States after publishing videos documenting Uyghur detention camps. Following outcry from civil society groups, including CPJ, he was ultimately granted asylum.
• Atlanta metro-area journalist Mario Guevara, who was deported to his native El Salvador, despite being in the country legally at the time of his detention. Guevara was initially detained by local law enforcement while covering a local anti-Trump protest. He was then transferred to immigration authorities and deported after over 100 days in law enforcement detention. 
• Allistair Kitchen, an Australian writer who has reported on Substack, was denied entry into the United States after border officials at the Los Angeles International Airport searched his phone and questioned him about his views on the Israel-Gaza war. Kitchen said that interrogators asked him about his views on a one-state, versus two-state solution in relation to Israel and Palestine.

Last year, CPJ issued its first-ever travel advisory for journalists entering the United States, which includes warnings about searches of electronic devices.

Editor’s note: This alert has been updated with more information.