ICE Ordered to Justify the Detention of Nashville Journalist

Source: WSJ

A federal judge has ordered the Department of Homeland Security to justify the detention of a Nashville, Tenn., journalist who was arrested by immigration officials last week.

Colombia-born Estefany Rodriguez Florez, 35 years old, was arrested by immigration officials Wednesday in the company of her U.S. citizen husband, according to legal filings.

Rodriguez and her family were in a vehicle that had a Nashville Noticias logo on it, the filings said. The Spanish-language online news outlet where Rodriguez works covers the Tennessee capital region. The arrest was retaliation for news coverage critical of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, her attorneys said.

U.S. District Judge Eli Richardson ordered quick responses in the case, directing the government to file a written justification this week. He could set a hearing on the case soon after. Rodriguez was being held in a county jail in Gadsden, Ala., as of Monday morning, according to a database maintained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.


Read more: https://www.wsj.com/us-news/law/ice-ordered-to-justify-the-detention-of-nashville-journalist-92f9ceb2