Spanish-Language Reporter Released After Two-Week Detention Amid Controversy

Fri Mar 20 2026 02:24:34 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

Estefany Rodríguez Flórez, a reporter for Nashville Noticias, was released from ICE custody after over two weeks following an alleged wrongful detention linked to her critical reporting on immigration practices.

Estefany Rodríguez Flórez, a Colombian journalist detained for over two weeks, has been released after paying a $10,000 bond. Her attorneys argue she faced wrongful detention due to her critical reporting on ICE activities. Rodríguez applied for political asylum after escaping persecution in her home country and maintains a valid work permit. The detention has raised concerns about the implications for press freedoms, especially for non-citizen journalists.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A reporter for a Spanish-language news outlet in Tennessee who contends she was wrongly held in detention for more than two weeks was released Thursday after paying a bond recently allowed by a judge, her attorneys said.

Estefany Rodríguez Flórez, a reporter for Nashville Noticias who has done stories critical of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, had been in ICE custody after her arrest on March 4 during a traffic stop...

Rodríguez, a Colombian citizen, entered the U.S. lawfully and has been living in the country for the past five years. She has a valid work permit and has applied for political asylum and legal status through her husband, a U.S. citizen...

In a wrongful detention court challenge aided by the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition, Rodríguez’s attorneys argue she was targeted because her reporting has been critical of ICE’s practices under President Trump’s administration...

On Monday, an immigration judge in Louisiana set a $10,000 bond for her release...

Holley said they plan to continue with the wrongful detention case and are working for not only her full release but an order prohibiting ICE from mistreating her in a similar way in the future...