The Trump administration just sent a "chilling signal" by deporting journalist Mario Guevara, a major press organization warned Friday.
Guevara’s family and lawyers had said Thursday that the journalist was set to be deported to his native El Salvador on Friday morning after an appeals court earlier this week declined to block a final removal order from the Board of Immigration Appeals.
Guevara was previously moved to a Louisiana facility after being held in an Immigration and Customs Enforcement center in Georgia for more than 100 days.
“Words cannot begin to describe the loss and devastation my family feels. I am in utter shock and disbelief the government has punished my father for simply doing his life’s work of journalism,” said his son Oscar Guevara, who also shared an update in Spanish on his father’s Facebook account.
Guevara reported on immigration in the Atlanta area for two decades. He was arrested in June while reporting on a “No Kings” protest.
On Friday, the National Press Club condemned the news.
"The National Press Club is deeply concerned about the removal of journalist Mario Guevara and the chilling signal it sends to those who report in the United States," the organization said. "When reporters fear that telling the truth could lead to deportation, press freedom is under threat."
The organization declared that press freedom is protected by the First Amendment and applies to everyone who gathers and publishes news, regardless of citizenship status.
"This case shows how immigration status can be weaponized against reporters, deterring the watchdog journalism the public depends on," the group said.
"That is dangerous for journalists and for the nation’s right to know," it added.
The group said it was "deeply concerned" for Guevara’s safety, noting he has previously been targeted in El Salvador. It called on the federal government to ensure that immigration enforcement is "not used — even inadvertently — to intimidate or silence the press."