Freedom of the press and civil rights groups are rallying around a journalist who was put in immigration custody after being arrested while covering a protest in Atlanta, warning that his detention could chill press freedoms and put noncitizen journalists at risk.

Mario Guevara, an independent digital journalist who reports in Spanish, has been held for a week after law enforcement officials turned him over to Immigration and Custom Enforcement.

Guevara has authorization to live and work in the U.S., his attorney, Giovanni Diaz, told The Associated Press. Guevara also has an application pending with the Department of Homeland Security for legal permanent residency, sponsored by an adult son who is a U.S. citizen, the attorney said.

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Guevara was arrested June 14 while livestreaming a “No Kings” protest against President Donald Trump’s immigration policies in the Embry Hills neighborhood near Atlanta.

Backlash after ICE detains journalist covering ‘No Kings’ immigration protests

Press groups are calling for the release of Mario Guevara, an independent journalist who faces deportation after he was arrested and charged with misdemeanors while covering a protest.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/immigration-journalist-faces-deportation-mario-guevara-rcna215032