Why did ICE Lock Up this Pro-Trump Reporter? (Part One)

Summary

Podcast Summary: "Why did ICE Lock Up this Pro-Trump Reporter? (Part One)"

Podcast: Question Everything
Host: Brian Reed
Date: February 19, 2026
Producer/Reporter: Sophie Kazis

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Episode Overview

This episode unpacks the complicated story of Mario Guevara—a Salvadoran immigrant, conservative journalist, and noted Trump supporter—who was nevertheless targeted, detained, and ultimately deported by ICE. The episode explores the intersection of media, politics, immigration enforcement, and American ideals, raising profound questions about journalistic freedom, loyalty, and the boundaries of government power.

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Major Discussion Points & Key Insights

1. The Death of Renee Goode and Presidential Hypocrisy ([00:06]–[01:28])

• Context: President Trump changes his rhetoric about the ICE shooting of Renee Goode, emphasizing her family's loyalty to him when expressing regret.
• Key Insight: Reed highlights Trump's tendency to be swayed by personal loyalty over principle.
• Quote: “All it takes for Renee Goode to go from a domestic terrorist to the victim of a horrible tragedy in his eyes is learning that her dad was a Trump supporter. It's sick, but real. Trump craves adoration.” – Brian Reed ([01:28])

2. Introduction to Mario Guevara: Reporter, Immigrant, Trump Fan ([01:28]–[03:23])

• Mario’s Profile: Salvadoran immigrant, conservative journalist, Trump supporter, renowned for his pro-law enforcement and pro-ICE coverage—yet still targeted by the administration he championed.
• Theme: The dangers of government overreach for even its staunchest allies.

3. The June Protest—Mario’s Arrest ([03:23]–[10:24])

• Scene Set: Large-scale “No Kings” protests erupt nationwide against Trump’s immigration policies.
• Location: Doraville, GA.
• Mario is covering the protest in a clearly marked “PRESS” vest, livestreaming in Spanish ([05:18]–[06:17]).
• Escalation:
  • Tensions rise; police and protesters clash.
  • Mass confusion over where reporters are allowed, police giving conflicting orders.
  • Mario specifically singled out by officers (“He’s the guy in the red shirt… He’s going.”), ignored when he identifies as press ([08:35]–[09:16]).
  • Quote: “Officer, I’m a member of the media.” – Mario Guevara ([09:12])
• Arrest & Charges:
  • Mario zip-tied, visibly wearing "PRESS"—other media present but none arrested.
  • Charged with unlawful assembly, obstruction, and being a pedestrian on the roadway.

4. Mario’s Backstory: Conservative, Cop-Friendly Reporter ([10:24]–[17:08])

• Mario’s Perspective:
  • Lifelong Republican, supports Trump for his business acumen, charisma, pro-life stance, and immigration crackdown ([11:42]–[12:28]).
  • Integrated in the local law enforcement community—helped police communicate with Latino residents, attended personal events with officers.
  • Quote: “I would be their spokesperson telling the community about coming events or some messages like, trust us, we're here to protect you. I conveyed that message to the Latin community for many years, and that made me have a very good relationship with the sheriff.” – Mario Guevara ([16:49])

5. Detained by ICE Despite Legal Status ([17:08]–[22:09])

• Detainer Issued: Despite charges being minor and bond granted, Mario is held on an ICE "detainer."
• Legal Situation:
  • Mario has work permit, no criminal record, married with kids (two US citizens); pending green card, valid DACA for daughter.
  • Quote: "I trusted American justice 100%, and I believe in the freedom of the press. That said, don't worry. It's a matter of time. I will be let out." – Mario Guevara ([13:49])

6. Mario's Unique Form of Reporting and ICE Coverage ([22:09]–[29:35])

• Role as a Journalist:
  • Livestreams ICE raids, often acting as mediator in tense situations between immigrants and agents.
  • Noted for an unconventional, involved reporting style—sometimes accused of being “pro-cop” or even an ICE collaborator.
  • Quote: “I did everything wrong in that sense. But I don't think I'm a bad journalist because of that. On the contrary, I think it makes me more human.” – Mario Guevara ([27:55])
• Community Critique: Derided as a “sapo” (snitch) by some viewers for his close relationships with law enforcement and advance knowledge of ICE activities.
• Engagement Irony: "Even if people are badmouthing me, that helps me. So… it's going to increase my engagement and I'm going to get more views." – Mario Guevara ([29:14])

7. The Politics of ICE Detainers and Local Law Enforcement ([29:35]–[33:05])

• Changing Policy:
  • In Gwinnett County, Sheriff Kibo Taylor ended the 287(g) ICE partnership (which Mario strongly supported)—but Mario was arrested in DeKalb, which still honored ICE detainers.
  • Charges against Mario from the protest are dropped, but ICE refuses release.
• Nuance in Views: Mario supports strong action against criminal immigrants, but opposes racial profiling and the misuse of police power ([32:10]–[32:27]).

8. Questionable Charges and Retaliation by Police ([33:05]–[37:08])

• Suspicious New Charges:
  • After Mario’s ICE detention, police add questionable traffic violations—allegedly discovered by combing through his previous livestreams.
  • The department responsible was Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office, which previously honored and awarded Mario.
  • Quote: “Traffic violations… are not the types of violations that law enforcement officers go combing through records to unearth and then issue warrants for.” – Scarlett Kim, ACLU attorney ([35:32])
  • Indicates a coordinated effort to find grounds for detention at the behest of ICE.

9. Judicial Pushback and ICE Defiance ([37:08]–[38:44])

• Immigration Judge:
  • Grants bond, acknowledges Mario is not a danger or flight risk, affirms his press protections.
  • ICE refuses release, files an emergency motion arguing Mario’s livestreaming is “inherently dangerous.”
  • Quote: “The government refused. On a really astonishing and unusual basis… the government was not going to release him because his live streaming… was inherently dangerous.” – Scarlett Kim ([38:06]–[38:19])

10. Mario’s Disillusionment ([38:44]–[39:27])

• Turning Point:
  • After his ordeal, Mario loses faith in ICE’s stated mission: “Trump's promise, ICE's promise… that was a lie. They are removing people that had no criminal record, including myself… They lied to us. They lied to people.” – Mario Guevara ([38:56])

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Notable Quotes

• Brian Reed:
  “The only thing that might drive Donald Trump more than payback is praise…” ([01:28])
• Emily Woo Pearson:
  “Mario is super well known in Atlanta, because he's super gutsy in his reporting. He would get right up in the action… very honestly, scary and intimidating.” ([05:57])
• Mario Guevara:
  “I trusted American justice 100%, and I believe in the freedom of the press.” ([13:49]) “I would always joke that if my university teachers saw me, they would say that I was breaking each and every rule in journalism. … But I don't think I'm a bad journalist because of that. On the contrary, I think it makes me more human.” ([27:55]) “They are removing people that had no criminal record, including myself. So I don't think that anymore. They lied to us. They lied to people.” ([38:56])
• Scarlett Kim (ACLU):
  “There was a kind of investigative report… it described how law enforcement officers were combing through his livestreaming videos, and that's how they unearthed these violations.” ([35:32])
  “The government refused. On a really astonishing and unusual basis… they argued that his live streaming… was inherently dangerous.” ([38:06])

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Timeline & Timestamps of Key Events

• [00:06]–[01:28]: Trump's remarks on Renee Goode, and Reed’s commentary on presidential motivation.
• [03:23]–[10:24]: The Atlanta protest, Mario’s arrest, and media reaction.
• [11:42]–[12:28]: Mario’s political ideology and personal rationale for supporting Trump and law enforcement.
• [13:49]–[14:34]: Mario’s trust in American justice post-arrest.
• [16:49]–[17:08]: Mario’s past collaboration and relationships with local police.
• [22:09]–[24:43]: Mario’s record of covering ICE raids and his nuanced view on enforcement.
• [25:21]–[27:55]: Illustrative case of Mario mediating ICE arrest on livestream.
• [29:14]: Mario's reaction to community criticism.
• [31:36]–[32:27]: Developments in ICE/local policy, Sheriff Taylor’s reforms, and Mario’s perspectives.
• [33:05]–[37:08]: Additional charges emerge; law enforcement combs Mario’s archives.
• [38:06]–[38:44]: ICE’s refusal to accept court bond, labeling Mario’s reporting as dangerous.
• [38:56]–[39:27]: Mario’s ideological break from ICE and Trump’s promises.

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Tone & Style

The episode maintains a deeply investigative, narrative tone, combining sharp, critical insights with detailed scene reporting, personal testimony, and pointed legal and political analysis. The hosts and reporters allow the complexities and contradictions of Mario’s character—and the broader system—to shine through.

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Memorable Moments

• Police officers seemingly targeting Mario specifically for arrest despite other reporters also being in the street ([08:35]–[09:16]).
• Mario’s emotional faith in the American legal system being shattered ([13:49]–[14:34]).
• Revelation that the very sheriff’s office that honored Mario later helped file dubious charges to keep him detained ([36:32]–[37:08]).
• ICE’s explicit argument that livestreaming law enforcement is “inherently dangerous” justifying indefinite detention ([38:06]–[38:19]).
• Mario’s ultimate loss of faith in ICE and the administration he supported ([38:56]).

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Concluding Tease

• Part two will further explore the government's efforts to silence Mario and the collapse of his political beliefs.
• Official responses from law enforcement agencies largely deflect or go unanswered.

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For Listeners

This episode lends rare insight into the way journalistic freedom, immigration law, and American politics can collide in unpredictable and troubling ways—even for those who seem ideally positioned to avoid such fates. It also raises vital questions about loyalty, due process, and the shifting definitions of “us” versus “them” in contemporary America.

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End of Summary (Part One).

Transcript

[Brian Reed]

I want to play you something the President said the other week because you might have missed it. This was Shortly after an ICE agent had fatally shot 37 year old Renee Good at point blank range in her car in Minneapolis. At first the Trump administration had said Good was a domestic terrorist who was trying to run over the agents and kill him. But now at this press conference, the President had a different tune because he'd learned something about Renee Goode's family. I'm not going to edit this clip for clarity, by the way, so just bear with it.

[Donald Trump]

I felt horribly when I was told that the young woman who was had the tragedy. It's a tragedy, it's a horrible thing. Everybody would say ICE would say the same thing. But when I learned her, her parents and her father in particular is like, was a. I hope he still is, but I don't know, was a tremendous Trump fan. He was all for Trump, loved Trump. And you know, it's terrible. I was told that by a lot of people. They said, oh, he loves you. He, he was. I hope, I hope he still feels that way. I don't know, it's hard, hard situation. But her father was tremendous and parents were tremendous Trump fans. It's so sad. It just happens. It's terrible.

[Brian Reed]

The only thing that might drive Donald Trump more than payback is praise. All it takes for Renee Goode to go from a domestic terrorist to the victim of a horrible tragedy in his eyes is learning that her dad was a Trump supporter. It's sick, but real. Trump craves adoration. The story we have for you today, it's remarkable because it's about someone the Trump administration targeted, a reporter who also was a Trump fan. This reporter covered ICE and police up close for many years, oftentimes quite favorably. He's a conservative. He supported many of Trump's policies. This guy was known for being tough on crime, tough on undocumented immigrants, but the administration still went after him. And I think it might be that this reporter is so idiosyncratic that they just didn't really know, maybe couldn't get a beat on him, maybe made assumptions about him that were wrong and it cost him. I think if Donald Trump himself heard the full story of what his government did to this reporter, it might even give him pause. From placement theory and kcrw, this is question Everything. I'm Brian Reed. Stick around. So we've been reporting this story for months and this is gonna be the first part in a special two part series this week. And next. And our story begins in June of last year. At one of the no Kings protests that broke out in response to the Trump administration's harsh immigration tactics on Donald Trump's 79th birthday, upwards of 6 million people demonstrated across the country, possibly the biggest single day protest in U.S. history. And in a suburb of Atlanta, there was an encounter between a reporter and police. Here's our producer, Sobi Kazis with the story.

[Sophie Kazis]

It was a muggy June afternoon. Protesters were gathered by a strip mall parking lot near Doraville, Georgia, with a Planet Fitness and a Kroger. Police were there, too, three different departments, many of the cops in full riot gear. One journalist there that day was Emily Woo Pearson from Atlanta's public radio station wabe.

[Emily Woo Pearson]

There were police all around. No matter where you were, there was an officer. And then at some point, the protest goes from the sidewalk into the crosswalk, and then people start marching in the road.

[Sophie Kazis]

Do the police keep us safe? Does ICE keep us safe? The cops are claiming the protesters aren't supposed to go in the street. That's the main point of tension. Protesters hadn't submitted paperwork to the city, so they didn't have permission to march in the road. As the number of protesters grew, ultimately to hundreds of people, police pushed them out of the road, onto the sidewalk, through the narrow grass landscaping, and into the strip mall parking lot. And then police try to push them out of the parking lot, too. They're just trying to disperse them, get them to leave. There were many journalists besides Emily there that a TV team from a local Fox affiliate, a reporter from Telemundo, at least two journalists from the Atlanta Journal Constitution, and Mario Guevara, a journalist with his own news channel, MG News. At the protest, Emily recognizes Mario. He's a fixture of Spanish language reporting in Atlanta. He's clearly identifiable as a journalist. He's wearing a vest that says Press in big white letters. His media credentials hang on a lanyard around his neck.

[Emily Woo Pearson]

He has a very iconic red shirt that says MG News on it. I see him then. He's on the sidewalk in front of the parking lot of the Planet Fitness, and he's livestreaming. He has his helmet on.

[Sophie Kazis]

Mario's been a journalist for over two decades, won an Emmy for his reporting while at Mundo Hispanico, Georgia's largest Spanish language newspaper. MG News, or Mario Guevara Noticias, is his independent outlet where he livestreams coverage that frequently has to do with law enforcement and immigration. His slogan is Lo vio primero aqui. You saw it here first.

[Emily Woo Pearson]

So Mario is super well known in Atlanta, because he's super gutsy in his reporting. He would get right up in the action in ways that are very honestly, scary and intimidating. I mean, he would just be in the crux of the action all the time.

[Sophie Kazis]

And Mario is up in the action at this Protest. He's got two phones, live streaming to TikTok and Facebook. Here. He's talking to camera. He's saying, this is what's going on here, my people. At this moment, groups of protesters are demonstrating against the actions of Donald Trump's administration. Then the protest starts to get confrontational. A protester walks defiantly towards the line of police who are barricading the street with riot shields. Officers storm up to him, push him to the ground. Other protesters rush into the street. Mario streaming all of this live to his hundreds of thousands of followers. Then the police deploy flashbangs and tear gas. Mario and Emily are both tear gassed.

[Emily Woo Pearson]

People were screaming and running, and the officers were trying to direct everybody off the roadways. And every single, like, media advocates, activists, like regular guys, everybody's like, do you need first aid? Are you okay? Like, I was checking in with the other journalists I saw. I just like, you know, made eye contact with everybody that I saw and was like, okay, I saw Mario, you know, I saw Arvin, I saw Riley, you know, Sophia. And I'm just doing my mental checklist. I go back to my car.

[Sophie Kazis]

In Mario's videos and police body cam footage, you see cops trying to disperse the protesters and the journalists, though it's not clear where they want reporters like Mario to go. A cop shouts at him, hey, last warning, sir.

[Brian Reed]

You're in the roadway last morning.

[Sophie Kazis]

Stay out of the road. Mario gets back on the sidewalk, but it's chaotic. He's trying to report, obey orders, voice, fight through more tear gas. At one point on the body cam footage, a group of three officers are looking at Mario. His red shirt stands out down the street. One of them says, he's eye on.

[Donald Trump]

The guy in the red shirt.

[Mario Guevara]

He says, second in the road, he's going.

[Sophie Kazis]

He's been warned multiple times. The other officer is confirming the guy who's with the press.

[Mario Guevara]

Huh?

[Donald Trump]

The press?

[Sophie Kazis]

Nope. Yep. His colleague says. Mario drifts from the sidewalk onto a grassy strip next to the parking lot. The cop tells him to get back on the sidewalk, trying to stay clear of this oncoming officer. Mario steps back from the grass to the sidewalk and then back further onto the street. Immediately, the group of cops who'd been scoping him from down the block, they pounce.

[Mario Guevara (Spanish segments)]

Officer Officer, I'm member of the media. Officer.

[Sophie Kazis]

Officer, I'm a member of the media. Mario says, okay.

[Mario Guevara (Spanish segments)]

Let me finish.

[Sophie Kazis]

They arrest Mario, zip tie his hands. You can hear people calling out Mario's name as officers walk him towards their cruisers. Why are you not taking him? He didn't do nothing. There are a bunch of other journalists on the scene. One of them told me he went in the street, too. But none of them were arrested except Mario, who's livestreaming in Spanish. There's a News crew from Fox 5 Local across the street, a reporter doing a standup in front of a camera. Behind her, Mario is being arrested. The camera operator zooms in. They're surprised to see a reporter being arrested.

[Scarlett Kim]

Did I see press written on their chest?

[Sophie Kazis]

Yes, yes, yes, yes. It did appear that he did have press written on his chest there. That does appear to be the case. The police take off Mario's press vest and helmet and put him in an suv. You warned multiple times not to get on the road.

[Mario Guevara (Spanish segments)]

But I didn't.

[Sophie Kazis]

Mario says, I was just reporting, officer. Just reporting. The cops drag him down to county jail and charge Mario with unlawful assembly, obstruction of an officer, and being a pedestrian on the roadway. Over the past several months, I've been speaking to Mario Guevara in a mix of English and Spanish with an interpreter about all that's happened to him since getting arrested that day. This was seven months before the former CNN anchor Don Lemon and independent journalist Georgia Fort were arrested for covering an anti ICE protest inside a Minnesota church a few weeks ago. The government's attacks on Mario foreshadowed those recent journalist arrests, though. Unlike Don Lemon and Georgia Fort, once Mario was locked up that day, he was never let out. After the protest, ICE detained Mario on outrageous grounds, incarcerated him for more than 100 days, and finally kicked him out of the country. All of this despite the fact that Mario has actually long been a booster of Donald Trump.

[Mario Guevara]

I think he's a very intelligent man. I think he is extremely clever for business. I also think that he's very charismatic. A lot of people don't like him, but I think he's very charismatic. Now, my personal ideology, and everyone knew that I am a Republican. Why? Because I am pro life. Anyone can have whatever relationship they want with whomever they want. That's their lives. But if it's time for marriage, I think marriage is between a man and a woman. People think other things. That's fine there. You have the right. But things like that make me a Republican.

[Mario Guevara (Spanish segments)]

Republican.

[Sophie Kazis]

Talking to Mario all these Months I've been trying to figure out, who is this gutsy Salvadoran immigrant reporter who dug Trump, and how did he end up getting targeted by the Trump administration, even though he backed their policies, backed Trump himself? What I found is that once Mario was arrested, the government mounted a concerted campaign to get him out of America, blatantly ignoring his constitutional protections, lying about his immigration history, and, crucially, by enlisting the help of local police, who Mario supported and knew personally, who turned on him. Even in today's America, Mario's loyalty was not enough to save him. Sitting in jail after the protests that day in June, Mario thought about the protections he was afforded as a reporter covering a protest. That's basic First Amendment stuff. Even though journalists sometimes do get caught up in protest arrests on the same kind of charges cops give demonstrators. They're usually let out quickly, and the charges are dropped.

[Mario Guevara]

I've lived most of my life in El Salvador. El Salvador has always been a country without justice, where crime ruled, where government corruption was rampant. And then I went to the United States, and I saw something different. The laws were different. So I adapted to this safer, better country. I trusted American justice 100%, and I believe in the freedom of the press. That said, don't worry. It's a matter of time. I will be let out. I was confident that the American justices were going to realize their mistake. I had done nothing wrong.

[Sophie Kazis]

Mario's attorney stopped by the jail and reassured him, don't worry. These are ridiculous. Come Monday, you'll be let out.

[Giovanni Diaz]

He was reporting he was live streaming the protests.

[Sophie Kazis]

This is Mario's lawyer, Giovanni Diaz.

[Giovanni Diaz]

He had his press badge on. He had the big press vest on. He had the helmet on. He had his credentials. He didn't attack anybody. He wasn't going after anybody, wasn't doing anything wrong. He was just reporting the fact that they had an issue with the fact that he stepped on the street. You know, if you watch that video, I mean, a lot of viewers will be confused by the fact that it seemed like they were following him. It was the same three officers. They can clearly see he's a member of the press, and they didn't care.

[Sophie Kazis]

It was surprising because Mario's whole brand is reporting on law enforcement and immigration enforcement with a law and order pov. He's a cop guy, and he's well known for it. Mario has about 1.4 million followers on his online channels, which is comparable to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, the biggest newspaper in the city. Mario told me he knows the police chief in charge of the officers who arrested him from Doraville pd I'm pretty.

[Mario Guevara (Spanish segments)]

Sure if the chief was there in that moment of the protest. They released me in the moment, but he was not there. And they arrest me for stupid charges.

[Sophie Kazis]

You know, dumb luck. Mario thought he knew so many cops from covering them. Over the years, he'd barbecued with officers at his house, gone to birthday parties for cop friend's kids and vice versa. One officer he knew attended Mario's daughter's quinceanera, but unfortunately, none of them were at the protest that day. Also unfortunate for Mario that this whole ordeal happened to go down in DeKalb county instead of the county where he lives. Gwinnett. The Gwinnett county sheriff's office was probably the local department he had the strongest relationship with. Gwinnett county has one of the largest Latino populations in the Atlanta area, and the Gwinnett sheriff actually gave Mario an Award in 2024 for his work.

[Mario Guevara]

I would be their spokesperson telling the community about coming events or some messages like, trust us, we're here to protect you. I conveyed that message to the Latin community for many years, and that made me have a very good relationship with the sheriff.

[Sophie Kazis]

On Mario's Facebook page, there's a picture of Mario with a huge smile standing with the Gwinnett share of himself, Kibo Taylor, as well as another officer who Mario has his arm around, holding a plaque the department gave him in recognition of his work. That's how in good standing Mario was with the various cops nearby. So it wasn't unreasonable to think this would all be set straight soon. And sure enough, when Monday comes, the DeKalb county judge looks over the charges from the protest and grants Mario bond.

[Mario Guevara]

I went back to my cell and I told my cellmates, hey, they're letting me go. And I was just waiting for that process. And two hours later, there was a sheriff's officer said, mario Guevara, Mario Guevara, no Associ Liberado will not be freed. I asked why, and he said, ICE placed a hold on you. Why? We don't know why, but when we for the eyes of your arrest eyes asked to hold you.

[Sophie Kazis]

How were you feeling when you learned that? Were you worried?

[Mario Guevara]

My reaction was to tell my lawyers immediately and tell my family. I told my family over the phone to tell the Salvatore consulate that I was being processed. My wife told them, mario has a work Permit valid until 2029. He's clean. Why is Ice taking it? And they said, that's strange because this should not happen. And my consul checked with ice. Maybe there was some bad information, but actually it was true. I was worried because my family were in anguish. I could hear them CR my wife and I was worried for that.

[Sophie Kazis]

After a quick break, Mario fights to get out of detention and learns someone's been looking for dirt on him. This is Kim Masters, host of the Business on kcrw. Every week we take a deep dive into the deals and the drama that shape Hollywood. From the power plays in the boardroom to the creative battles on set, we bring you the inside stories behind the entertainment headlines. Check out the business part of the NPR podcast network. When Mario was arrested while reporting, he'd been doing everything he thought he was supposed to do as an immigrant to this country. He'd obtained a work permit. He was a business owner, a public figure who'd been contributing to his community for more than 20 years. He had no criminal record. He'd raised a family here, has a wife and three grown kids, two of whom are US Citizens. He and his wife are in the middle of applying for their green cards. 22 years ago, Mario was reporting for a conservative newspaper in El Salvador and got attacked by left wing protesters at a demonstration. He had to seek refuge in the Ministry of Justice. Mario says people were threatening to kill him because of his coverage. So he fled his home country for Atlanta with his wife and young daughter. He overstayed his visa. He and his wife built a life in Georgia, had two more kids, two sons. They're the ones who are citizens. His daughter is Daca. In 2007, Mario, along with his wife and daughter, applied for asylum. Atlanta has the highest asylum denial rate in the country, and eventually, after years pending in court, a judge denied Mario's case. In 2012, Mario's attorneys appealed, and the result was a wonky legal limbo. His case was what's called administratively closed, which means it wasn't an active case, and ICE agreed not to deport him. But his asylum application also wasn't resolved. It's just pending, which is what allowed Mario to get a Social Security number, apply for a green card, get a work permit from the Department of Homeland Security, and continue on with his life as a reporter. Mario knew that DHS and ICE had gotten much more aggressive in Trump's second term. But the rules of the road were still shifting. Five months in, he couldn't imagine what ICE would have on him to justify detaining him.

[Mario Guevara]

I consider myself someone who's knowledgeable about immigration news related to the police. I have years of experience investigating immigration. That is why I never understood that. They accused me of so many things when I knew what I was doing. I'm no rookie.

[Sophie Kazis]

Mario's been covering ICE almost the entire time he's lived in the US since the Obama administration. A lot of what he's known for is going to the scene of ICE operations and live streaming them. Here's just one of many, many examples from last year. He's on the side of a highway filming four Latino men pulled over by federal agen.

[Mario Guevara (Spanish segments)]

Velosales federale. Mi gente estoys.

[Sophie Kazis]

Mario says, you can see the federal officers. My people. This is here in the area of Jimmy Carter Boulevard. They've stopped and surrounded this work truck. They have this group of workers. According to a reporter at the Atlanta Journal Constitution, when they had trouble finding an official tally of local ICE arrests, they turned to Mario. MG News was the most comprehensive resource for this. His raid coverage was super popular.

[Mario Guevara]

When I reported a raid somewhere, I realized that the Latinos would not go there that day because they were afraid of ISIS surveillance. So these were alerts to my community. But I didn't do it because I wanted to alert them. I wanted to inform them.

[Sophie Kazis]

Because, in fact, Mario is pretty hawkish on immigration enforcement. One of the main reasons he's been into Trump was because of Trump's immigration agenda.

[Mario Guevara]

Trump announced that they were going to hunt down and prosecute and deport dangerous criminals that were a threat to society. And that's a good thing. I was one of the ones celebrating because I thought that the criminals would be taken off the streets and my neighborhood would be safer.

[Sophie Kazis]

I mean, he famously called immigrants criminals and rapists. Were you offended by that?

[Mario Guevara]

Well, I think it was wrong because most of us are not. I said, well, this is just. Politics is trying to attract votes.

[Sophie Kazis]

Mario thinks Democrats gave too many benefits to new immigrants who have come in too easily. And he's not shy about letting this perspective shape his coverage. I saw a video of this one ICE arrest Mario covered a few years ago that I think captures his position. Well. A man called up Mario, an immigrant.

[Mario Guevara (Spanish segments)]

El estaba en el tayer un tayer de mecanica.

[Mario Guevara]

He was in car repair shop, 7 or 8pm I don't remember, but he was whispering, Mr. Mario, I have been surrounded. I can see them through the security cameras. I asked, where are you? And he gave me his location. I went there.

[Sophie Kazis]

Mario shows up at the scene. He's got his two phones on him. With one, he's still on the line with this man. With the other, he starts livestreaming.

[Mario Guevara]

I started recording. The ICE agent said, look, keep your distance. You can record, but keep your distance. I said, I have this guy on the phone.

[Sophie Kazis]

The man on the phone is willing to come out peacefully and turn himself over to ice, but is terrified that if he opens the door, the ICE agents will hurt him. He tells Mario that. And Mario turns to the agents and says.

[Mario Guevara]

He wants to turn himself in on the ICE People said, okay, what does he want? And he said, he doesn't want to be beaten. He's going to get out voluntarily. Oh, okay, fine. And they would give me the instructions and I would convey them.

[Sophie Kazis]

This is the footage of that moment, Mario negotiating between the man in the auto shop and the ICE agents outside. It's pretty striking. Mario really vouches for ICE with this frightened man. Mario translates for him. He tells him the ICE agent is saying to calm down, come out with your hands up. I'm here outside. Mario tells him on the phone, and they say, they won't hurt you.

[Mario Guevara]

He was handcuffed. It was a peaceful arrest. Basically, I was the mediator between the detained person and ice.

[Mario Guevara (Spanish segments)]

El detenido yais.

[Sophie Kazis]

Mario says the man was deported and that one of the man's relatives contacted Mario after to thank him for helping get the man through the situation unharmed. Mario feels like he helped everybody involved. The man and ice. So you showed up to report on the situation, but you found yourself a part of it. Did it feel like you were crossing a line or taking sides? No.

[Mario Guevara (Spanish segments)]

Por que? No intervening en de la resto?

[Mario Guevara]

No, no. Because I never intervened in the arrest. I didn't tell the officers what to do. I was just a mediator between the parties. That is the level of trust that people place in me. I don't like to disappoint people. I always wanted to be in the BE helps some on one hand and the others on the other hand. I have no issue with that. I would always joke that if my university teachers saw me, they would say that I was breaking each and every rule in journalism. Because you cannot get involved. You should only do reporting, don't do anything extra. I did everything wrong in that sense. But I don't think I'm a bad journalist because of that. On the contrary, I think it makes me more human. People started saying that I was enjoying watching Latinos being arrested, that I was more pro cop than pro Latino. Some people even said that I was two faced and was actually working with ice, informing about Latinos in the community.

[Sophie Kazis]

In Spanish, sapo or toad is slang for snitch. There are toad emojis in the comments of Mario's videos. How, they wonder, does Mario know where ICE is going to be in advance? Is he tipping them off?

[Mario Guevara]

It's a lie. I was never an informer. I never worked for the government, so I didn't care. It sounds ironic, but even if people are badmouthing me, that helps me. So if you're going to do that, that is going to increase my engagement and I'm going to get more views. Say it. I don't care.

[Sophie Kazis]

If Mario was an informer, it wasn't helping him. Now, four days after he was arrested while reporting At a protest, ICE has Mario transferred from the DeKalb County Jail into their custody at the Folkestone ICE Processing Center. It's six hours away from his family, who are working frantically with his lawyers to figure out what to do. What happened to Mario is known as a detainer. ICE requests jails and prisons to hold non citizens who are locked up for a crime for up to 48 extra hours after they're supposed to be released to give ICE time to come pick them up and transfer them into their custody. For a long time, detainers were mostly used to hold non citizens with serious criminal records. But in Trump's second term, that's all changed, mario's lawyer Giovanni Diaz, told me. Now almost anyone who isn't a citizen or a legal permanent resident who finds themselves in contact with local law enforcement gets an ICE hold. It's a policy of mass detention and mass deportation. Different states and localities have different policies regarding ICE detainers, especially in this new regime. Some abide by them, others don't. Mario had reported on this, actually on how local law enforcement in his area were or were not cooperating with ice, especially when it came to the sheriff of Gwinnett county, where he lives, Sheriff Kibo Taylor, the guy he posed grinning with who gave him that plaque. When Taylor ran For Sheriff in 2021, one of his big promises if he won, was to pull the department out of a federal program called 287. That meant the department would directly assist ICE in a bunch of ways, including by enforcing detainers. And Taylor did it on his first day in office.

[Emily Woo Pearson]

It's out with the old and in with the new. The new sheriff in town pulling the county out of the 287 program on his first day in office as the clock struck midnight. It's a federal partnership with ICE that.

[Sophie Kazis]

Allows deputies to screen foreign born people.

[Emily Woo Pearson]

Coming into jail for their legal status.

[Sophie Kazis]

The sheriff who's Black said he thought the program unfairly targeted people of color.

[Mario Guevara]

I saw that program as a discriminatorial program just like any other tool in law enforcement. They're put in place to do good, and then sometimes people abuse it.

[Sophie Kazis]

And Mario agreed with Sheriff Taylor. This gets at the nuance of Mario's views. He likes tough immigration enforcement against dangerous criminals, but he doesn't want cops or ICE racially profiling people.

[Mario Guevara]

We gave him a platform because that was what the Latino community wanted to hear. He went to the Hispanic community and said, okay, I'm going to deal with 287G. I'm going to take immigrants out of jail, and you will have no deportations with me. That is what he promised to the Latino community. I interviewed him a couple of times. I would go to the events. Once he won, he actually made good on his promise. He removed the deportation program, and all of the Latinos were happy. They saw that he made a promise and made good.

[Sophie Kazis]

But Mario wasn't arrested in Gwinnett County. He was picked up in the next county over, DeKalb. This wasn't Sheriff Taylor's jurisdiction, and Mario found himself caught up in exactly the kind of policy he was worried would ensnare Latino immigrants who were arrested for nonviolent offenses, like being a pedestrian on the roadway, obstruction of an officer, unlawful assembly. All of these charges against Mario were dropped, by the way, within a couple weeks. But in the meantime, ICE had asked DeKalb county to hold Mario regardless, and they obliged. Mario's attorney rushed to file a new motion, this time with an immigration judge, to get Mario out. A bond hearing is set for a few weeks later. And in the midst of all of this, something especially odd happens. Mario's lawyer, Giovanni Diaz, gets notified that Mario is being hit with three additional misdemeanor charges, three traffic violations.

[Giovanni Diaz]

They claim he. He ran a red light. And the interesting thing about that police report was that it was sworn out. The narrative was written by the officer after his arrest for traffic violations for incidents that happened, you know, over a month ago, Basically.

[Sophie Kazis]

Police are claiming they have evidence that Mario ran a red light, was using his phone and driving recklessly some four weeks earlier, though he hadn't been pulled over at the time. He hadn't gotten a ticket. And now the cops are supposedly just getting around to filing these traffic charges after he's in jail already. It's suspicious, and notably to Mario's lawyers. These charges appear after ICE has gotten involved and declared they want Mario held.

[Giovanni Diaz]

The fact that warrants were sworn out after he was arrested and after he was already in heist custody. It's unusual.

[Sophie Kazis]

Tell me why that's concerning.

[Giovanni Diaz]

Well, because now they're heaping charges on him, Right. Why did they swear this warrant out closer to when the incident happened? Why do they wait over a month to get these warrants?

[Scarlett Kim]

Those charges were highly unusual.

[Sophie Kazis]

This is another one of Mario's attorneys, Scarlet Kim. She's a senior staff attorney with the aclu.

[Scarlett Kim]

Traffic violations of the kind that he was charged with are normally the shoot on the spot. They're not the types of violations that law enforcement officers go combing through records to unearth and then issue warrants for. And there was a kind of investigative report that was issued, and it described how law enforcement officers were combing through his live streaming videos, and that's how they unearthed these violations.

[Sophie Kazis]

The cops had gone through Mario's social media in order to get dirt on him, pouring through videos where he's filming law enforcement officers to find a few moments where they say he was driving recklessly.

[Scarlett Kim]

These videos where they claim that he committed these traffic violations, which also adds to just how highly unusual and suspect they were. It was clear that they were looking to charge him with something.

[Sophie Kazis]

What was even more surprising, the police department that had gone and done this dug up these unusual charges on Mario was the Gwinnett County Sheriff's office, the very same sheriff's office that had given Mario an award just a year before. The sheriff, who on his first day in office had proudly ended a partnership between his department and ice, a sheriff's office that wasn't even involved in this incident, which happened in a whole other county.

[Mario Guevara]

When they told me the sheriff Aquinnet presented charges against you, I said, why? That shocked me. Why? Why were they doing this?

[Sophie Kazis]

When Mario next went before a judge, this time in immigration court, the judge granted Mario bond, said he should be released, that Mario wasn't a danger, not a flight risk, and quote, at the time of his alleged crimes, he was acting as a journalist and that he should be protected by freedom of speech. As detailed in the Constitution. Reporting on ICE raids in the community, the judge continued, is a national concern, and many other journalists across the nation are also reporting on the issue. But when Mario tried to pay his bond, ICE wouldn't let him go.

[Scarlett Kim]

The government refused. On a really astonishing and unusual basis.

[Sophie Kazis]

Mario's attorney, Scarlett Kim at the ACLU, says ICE filed an emergency motion to keep Mario behind bars.

[Scarlett Kim]

It argued that the government was not going to release him because his live streaming of essentially his reporting of law enforcement activity was inherently dangerous.

[Sophie Kazis]

Next time, Mario's long standing beliefs, they crack. Do you still think that ICE has a noble mission?

[Mario Guevara (Spanish segments)]

Es al contrarimo.

[Mario Guevara]

It's quite the opposite. That ended up being a lie. Trump's promise, ICE's promise of clearing the country of criminals and deporting the bad homeless, that was a lie. They are removing people that had no criminal record, including myself. So I don't think that anymore. They lied to us. They lied to people.

[Brian Reed]

Coming up next week, we'll have the rest of Sophie Kazis story about Mario Guevara as the government amps up its attacks on him and hones in on his journalism. Here's what we've heard so far from law enforcement about Mario's case. The Gwinnett County Sheriff did not respond to many of our questions, but but they confirmed that arrest warrants related to traffic violations were obtained for Mario based on conduct that was publicly observed during a live streamed social media broadcast. The Doraville police didn't respond to our questions about why their officers arrested a reporter. And when we asked the DeKalb County Sheriff's Office for details about the ICE detainer on Mario, a public information officer wrote that their office, quote, adheres strictly to established legal procedures in the detention and release of individuals in its custody. But they said we'd have to ask ICE for more specific information on Mario's case, and ICE did not respond to our repeated requests. If you have a second KCRW has a survey going about Question Everything so we can learn more about what you like or hate, I guess about the show. If you can do us a solid, please go to kcrw.com surveys. There's a link in the show notes and take the Question Everything survey. Also, as always, I'm rihread on Instagram B R I H R E E d and also Brihread 45 on Signal. Feel free to send me tips at either of those places. Also, our newsletter questioneverything.substack.com today's show was reported and produced by Sophie Kazis with support from Jen Kinney, Robin Simeon and me. Jen, Robin and I edited the story. Robin, Simeon and I are the executive producers of Question Everything. Our team also includes Managing Editor Kevin Sullivan, producer Sax St. Louis, contributing editor Neil Drumming and Associate Producer Kevin Shepherd. Additional editing by Sean Cole. This episode was fact checked by Marisa Robertson, texter and Annika Robbins mixing in sound design by Brendan Baker. Our music is by Matt McGinley thanks to Camilo Friedman and Jose Baez, our tape sinkers. Our interpreters Fernando Hernandez Becerra, Macarena Funes and Sebastian Riveros, whose voice you hear as Mario in the story. Anna Oakes provided translation help, and thanks also to Stephanie Inslee and Oliver Inslee of Inslee Law. Our partners at KCRW include Arnie Seiple, Tejal Azumara, Natalie Hill, and Jennifer Farrow. See you next week.

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