Lighthouse calls for immediate release of partner journalist in Nashville

Lighthouse Reports calls for the immediate release of Estefany Rodríguez Flores, a reporter with our partner newsroom, Nashville Noticias. Rodríguez, whose work includes reporting on immigration enforcement, was detained while in a marked news vehicle.

Nashville Noticias LLC was part of a coalition of outlets led by Lighthouse Reports, including the Nashville Banner, Mother Jones and the Institute for Public Service Reporting which found evidence of racial profiling by law enforcement during a recent surge operation in Nashville by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE).

Rodríguez, who faced death threats in her home country of Colombia is married to a US citizen and has a pending asylum case. Photos and videos from the March 4 arrest, where she was taken from a vehicle displaying the logo of Nashville Noticias, show multiple vehicles and officers were deployed to detain a person whose attorneys say was “following the rules” on her immigration statement.

Her lawyers have since detailed the steps she had taken to make herself available for ICE appointments: “These facts indicate retaliation against Rodríguez in violation of the First Amendment due to her work as a journalist, including reporting on ICE,” the attorneys wrote in a court brief.

The arrest and detention of a journalist amounts to an attack on press freedom, meant to intimidate journalists willing to report on wrongdoing by ICE and law enforcement. Lighthouse supports the rights of journalists to report without fear or favour.