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Free Press Groups Demand Trump Admin End Targeting of Journalists After Nashville Reporter's Release
Estefany Rodríguez's detention "has had a chilling effect, undermining journalists’ ability, especially local reporters, to cover their communities without fear of retaliation," according to one advocate.
Mar 20, 2026
Immigrant rights and press freedom groups were celebrating Friday after Nashville journalist Estefany Rodríguez was released from a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Louisiana, two weeks after she was detained—but advocates said they would continue challenging the violation of Rodríguez's rights and demanded the Trump administration end its targeting of journalists amid its anti-immigration crackdown.
Rodríguez was freed on a $10,000 bond, more than two weeks after the Nashville Noticias reporter was detained outside a gym while traveling in her marked press vehicle.
As Common Dreams reported, press freedom advocates expressed concern that Rodríguez was detained in retaliation for her reporting on ICE's mass detention and deportation operation under President Donald Trump.
An ICE officer told her lawyer after her arrest that Rodríguez had been labeled a "flight risk" because she "missed" two meetings at the local ICE office—although the agency had previously informed her lawyer and her husband that she didn't need to go to the meetings.
Nora Benavidez, senior counsel of the media rights group Free Press, said the group welcomed the news of Rodríguez's release but emphasized that "while this is a victory for Rodríguez, her free speech rights, and the communities she reports for, the fight is not over."
"We remain troubled by the federal government’s ongoing campaign to silence and deport reporters who cover the administration’s gross mistreatment of immigrants," said Benavidez. "We will continue to fight for Rodríguez and her right to report free from retaliation while we challenge the federal government’s relentless assaults on the First Amendment across this country.”
"Press freedom is not theoretical—it is tested in moments like this. Safeguarding it means removing unnecessary barriers and ensuring that journalists, especially those serving vulnerable communities, can report freely and without fear."
Rodríguez was arrested weeks after journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort were arrested for reporting on an anti-ICE protest at a church in Minneapolis. Emmy-winning journalist Mario Guevara was arrested last June after reporting on a No Kings protest against Trump in Atlanta; he was detained for more than 100 days before being deported to El Salvador.
Rodríguez arrived in the US lawfully in 2021 from her native Colombia, where she faced threats due to her reporting work. She applied for asylum before her visa expired.
Nashville Banner reported that Rodríguez was granted the bond by a judge on Monday, but a mandatory stay allowed ICE attorneys the opportunity to appeal the decision, which they ultimately did not. Then it took a day for Rodríguez's family to post the bond through an electronic system on Wednesday, which required approval since they were first-time users.
The bureaucratic delays added to the ordeal Rodríguez faced during her detention, during which she was not able to contact her attorneys until March 14. She first spent a week in a county jail in Alabama where guards placed her in isolation for five days, claiming she had contracted lice. According to Nashville Banner, before she was transferred to the center in Louisiana, the guards "took her to the shower, made her strip naked, and poured cleaning liquid over her head." The substance made Rodríguez's eyes burn, and the outlet reported that "she believed the liquid was also used to clean floors."
Following her release, Rodríguez's legal case is ongoing. Her lawyers filed an emergency petition for a writ of habeas corpus in federal court. Government lawyers are now arguing the case is moot because Rodríguez has been released, but her attorneys are seeking an evidentiary hearing to obtain an injunction against her potential redetenion.
"We plan to proceed with the habeas petition that was filed on March 4, challenging both her warrantless arrest and retaliation for her exercise of First Amendment rights," said Mike Holley, an attorney with the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition. "Through that petition, we are seeking not only her complete release, but an order prohibiting ICE from mistreating her in a similar way in the future.”
In the petition, Rodríguez's legal team argued her detention has violated her First, Fourth, and Fifth amendment rights and asserted that she was detained in relation to her coverage of ICE operations.
Jose Zamora, regional director of the Americas for the Committee to Protect Journalists, said Rodríguez's detention "has had a chilling effect, undermining journalists’ ability, especially local reporters, to cover their communities without fear of retaliation."
“The government must uphold press freedom and ensure all journalists can work safely and without reprisal," said Zamora.
Mark Schoeff Jr., president of the National Press Club, said that Rodríguez's case "should never have reached this point."
"We urge authorities to drop any further action against Ms. Rodríguez and allow her to continue her work without interference. She is a community-focused journalist whose reporting serves the public interest, and she must be able to work openly and cooperatively as she seeks to resolve her legal status in the United States," said Schoeff. "A free press depends on the ability of journalists to report without fear of detention or retaliation. Reporters cannot do their jobs if they fear detention for doing their jobs."
"Press freedom is not theoretical—it is tested in moments like this," he added. "Safeguarding it means removing unnecessary barriers and ensuring that journalists, especially those serving vulnerable communities, can report freely and without fear."
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Retaliation? Nashville Journalist Detained by ICE After Reporting on Trump Crackdown
"ICE abductions of noncitizen journalists take the reporters best equipped to cover immigration enforcement off the beat."
Mar 06, 2026
Press freedom groups on Friday were calling for the immediate release of Estefany Rodríguez, a journalist with Nashville Noticias and Univision 42 Nashville, after she was detained by federal immigration agents while traveling in her marked press vehicle.
The Freedom of the Press Foundation said it was not yet clear whether Rodríguez was detained "in retaliation for her reporting" on US Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) mass detention and deportation operation under President Donald Trump.
"But we certainly wouldn't be surprised," said the group in a statement on social media. "ICE abductions of noncitizen journalists take the reporters best equipped to cover immigration enforcement off the beat."
Rodríguez was with her husband, a US citizen, on Wednesday when she was arrested outside a gym. She was in a car marked with the Nashville Noticias logo when several other vehicles surrounded her, the outlet said in a statement Friday.
"Several men got out and demanded that our colleague be taken into custody for reasons that the legal team will specify at a later date," said Nashville Noticias. "Estefany Rodríguez was taken to a detention center."
Pablo Manríquez of Migrant Insider reported Friday that Rodríguez had been taken to the Central Louisiana ICE Processing Center, "a facility infamous for solitary confinement and sexual abuse by guards against detainees."
Nashville Banner reported that Rodríguez arrived in the US in 2021 on a tourist visa and then applied for political asylum. Her lawyer, Joel Coxander, told the outlet that Rodríguez had reported on armed groups in her native Colombia and had received threats for doing so, leading her to file at least one police report before coming to the US. After getting married, the Columbia Journalism Review (CJR) reported, Rodríguez "filed for permission to adjust her status to that of a lawful permanent resident."
She had never had an interaction with ICE until January 8, Nashville Banner reported, when she received a G-56 "call-in" letter asking her to come in to a local ICE office for "processing and additional information" on January 26.
Coxander told Nashville Banner that the letter advised Rodríguez to come to a meeting to "help ensure the best outcome for your case." She was also told she would receive a Notice to Appear (NTA) at the meeting, an official document initiating an immigration court case.
The local office was closed on January 26 due to inclement weather, and a makeup appointment was scheduled for February 25.
Media and an associate of Coxander's went to the ICE office two days before the rescheduled appointment to confirm whether Rodríguez had to go to the meeting and ask if the NTA could simply be sent to her attorneys. They were told no appointment was in the system for Rodríguez and a third appointment was scheduled for March 17.
Nine days later, Rodríguez was arrested, with ICE agents presenting the NTA rather than a warrant after they surrounded her car.
An ICE officer at the local office told Coxander's associate after Rodríguez was detained that she had been arrested because she was considered a "flight risk" because she had "missed" two meetings.
“She’s being told, ‘We’re holding it against you that you didn’t do this thing we told you you didn’t have to do,” Coxander told Nashville Banner. “They’re saying, ‘Hey, you didn’t show up to this invitation letter, so you’re a full flight risk.’”
Rodríguez has covered ICE's operations in Nashville. CJR reported that on Tuesday, the day before she was arrested, Rodríguez "reported from the parking lot of a residential complex where three ICE agents detained a man believed to be of Venezuelan origin."
Her arrest comes weeks after federal agents arrested journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort, accusing the two US citizens of conspiring with organizers to disrupt a church service at a protest they were covering. Last June, an Emmy-winning reporter named Mario Guevara was arrested and held for more than 100 days before being deported. His deportation "is believed to be the first case of a journalist being removed from the US in retaliation for their work," wrote CJR's Carolina Abbott Galvão.
The Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition said Rodríguez is a "beloved community member and trusted journalist in the community."
"It’s not lost on us that as a reporter, Estefany honestly and courageously told real stories about the harms caused by ICE and the people they targeted and detained," said the group.
Media Action Plan, a Canada-based press freedom group, said Rodríguez's arrest "is another attack on the free press."
Rodríguez's husband set up a GoFundMe for the family, which also includes a young daughter. The fundraiser had raised nearly $9,000 as of Friday afternoon.
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Lyft, Uber Drivers Banned From Tennessee Airport After Caravan for Pro-Worker Bill
"Uber, Lyft, and Metro Nashville Airport Authority are engaging in an inappropriate and malicious alliance to destroy dozens of livelihoods," said the Tennessee Drivers Union.
Mar 03, 2025
A Tennessee union announced Monday that 34 Uber and Lyft drivers received messages "informing them that they had been permanently banned" from working at Nashville's airport after joining scores of workers for a peaceful caravan there last month to support a state bill that would impact the companies.
The Tennessee Drivers Union (TDU) said in a statement that some participants, "including those in the passenger's seat not driving," were banned from providing rides at Nashville International Airport following the February 14 action, during which "participating Uber and Lyft drivers had their apps turned off."
In a message to one Uber driver obtained by Common Dreams, the company said that "Nashville International Airport (BNA) notified us that you conducted a pickup on the arrivals level of the terminal. Please note that all pickups must occur in the Uber-designated zone."
"Due to the nature of the incident, the airport is restricting certain driver-partners from accepting rides or dropping passengers off at BNA permanently, pursuant to the terms of Uber's agreement with the airport," Uber continued. "Your account appeared on the list. For that reason, your account has been permanently blocked from operating at BNA. Contact the airport for more information."
A message to a Lyft driver similarly said that "it has been reported that you were conduct detrimental to the orderly operation of the airport. That being said, at the request of the airport, you are prohibited from operating on BNA airport property indefinitely."
"To prevent future suspensions, carefully review the BNA rules and regulations," Lyft added. "Please note, citations may be given if you operate on BNA property during your suspension, and you will be responsible for paying them."
Lyft and Uber have not responded to Common Dreams' requests for comment on the bans, which come as working people face high costs and a billionaire-led assault on the federal government.
TDU said Monday that "Uber, Lyft, and Metro Nashville Airport Authority are engaging in an inappropriate and malicious alliance to destroy dozens of livelihoods. The airport is one of the only opportunities for ride-share drivers to make barely above minimum wage."
"This is an attack against dozens of workers, their families, and their communities," the union continued, noting the millions of dollars in fees the airport gets from drivers and Metro Nashville Airport Authority CEO Doug Kreulen's $600,000 salary.
As Common Dreams reported last year, TDU has sounded the alarm about working conditions for drivers at BNA. Union members kicked off Labor Day weekend in 2024 with a strike to draw attention to demands including a cap on the number of ride-share drivers in the area, an expansion of their airport lot, and clean, working bathrooms on-site.
TDU said Monday that "this retaliation isn't a mistake," arguing that "Uber and Lyft are threatened" by Tennessee House Bill 879/Senate Bill 818, introduced last month by state Rep. Rush Bricken (R-47) and Sen. Joey Hensley (R-28).
The bill text begins by highlighting that "Tennessee is the only state in the Southeast that allows out-of-state ride-hail drivers to operate within the state, while Tennessee ride-hail drivers may not work in surrounding states."
"Tennesseans who live and work in our communities, contributing directly to our local economy, struggle to compete with an oversaturated market of out-of-state drivers," the legislation explains, calling for "a basic licensing regime."
The bill would require ride-hail drivers operating in the state to have a "transportation network license," which would require a Tennessee driver's license, or proof of residency in DeSoto County, Mississippi, or Crittenden County, Arkansas.
Companies that allow drivers to provide rides without a Tennessee-issued transportation network license would be hit with a $1,000 penalty per violation and could ultimately be banned from operating in the state.
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