ICE Releases Journalist Estefany Rodríguez After Pressure Over First Amendment Concerns

Journalist Estefany Rodríguez Released After ICE Detention

Allegations of Retaliation for Immigration Coverage

Pressure Over Press Freedom

Colombian journalist Estefany Rodríguez was released on bond after spending more than two weeks detained by ICE.

Rodríguez works as a reporter for Nashville Noticias and Univision 42 in Tennessee.

Why it matters: Her case has raised questions about press freedom and immigration enforcement in the United States.

Controversy in Tennessee: Journalist Detained by ICE Freed

“After more than two weeks detained by ICE, Colombian reporter Estefany Rodríguez regains her freedom on bond in Tennessee.”
https://t.co/e7t2lWJIGN

— El Universal (@El_Universal_Mx) March 20, 2026

Rodríguez was detained on March 4 in southern Nashville.

Authorities argued that she missed an immigration appointment the previous month.

The appointment was part of her asylum application in the United States.

The reporter is married to a U.S. citizen.

After her arrest, she was sent to a detention center in Alabama.

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She was later transferred to an immigration jail in Louisiana.

From there, she was released during the most recent night.

The Estefany Rodríguez ICE journalist case quickly gained national attention.

Defense Claims Retaliation for Her Work

Nashville Noticias reporter Estefany Rodríguez is on her way home after 16 days in ICE detention, following a judge’s decision to grant her bond. @WKRN pic.twitter.com/fSzPOG7SWG

— Jaxie Pidgeon (@JaxiePidgeon) March 20, 2026

Attorney Mike Holley confirmed Estefany Rodríguez’s release.

Holley is part of the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition.

Her legal team stated they will continue defending her right to remain in the United States.

Rodríguez’s representatives argue that her detention was an act of retaliation.

They claim her reporting focuses on immigration issues.

They also stated that ICE did not present an arrest warrant.

Rodríguez applied for asylum after receiving death threats in Colombia in 2021.

Those threats were linked to her coverage of armed groups.

Pressure From Organizations and ICE’s Response

A coalition of 41 press freedom organizations intervened in the case.

These groups sent a letter to ICE demanding Estefany Rodríguez’s immediate release.

They argued that her detention contradicts the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

The arrest occurred while Rodríguez was traveling with her husband.

The vehicle they were in displayed the Nashville Noticias logo.

ICE maintains that the journalist failed to attend two immigration appointments.

However, her husband, Alejandro Medina III, provided a different account.

He said one of the notices did not appear in the system.

He also explained that a winter storm prevented them from attending another appointment.

Journalist Estefany Rodríguez ICE case continues to fuel debate over immigration enforcement and freedom of the press in the United States.