Trending Now - Tennessee Reporter Estefany Rodríguez Released From ICE Custody

WHO:

Estefany Rodríguez Flórez, reporter for Nashville Noticias

Mike Holley, attorney for Rodríguez

Joel Coxander, attorney for Rodríguez

Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

José Zamora, regional director for the Americas at the Committee to Protect Journalists

WHAT:

Estefany Rodríguez was released from ICE custody on March 19th, 2026, after paying a $10,000 bond.

Rodríguez was detained for more than two weeks, specifically from March 4th, 2026, until her release.

Rodríguez's attorneys are pursuing a wrongful detention case and seeking an order to prevent ICE from mistreating her in the future.

Rodríguez has a pending green card application and a valid work permit.

WHERE:

Rodríguez was arrested in Nashville, Tennessee.

She was held in Etowah County Jail, Alabama, and then transferred to the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center in Basile, Louisiana.

WHEN:

Rodríguez was arrested on March 4th, 2026.

Rodríguez was moved to Louisiana on March 12th, 2026.

An immigration judge set the bond for her release on March 17th, 2026.

WHY:

Rodríguez contends she was wrongly held due to her critical reporting on ICE practices under Trump’s administration.

Rodríguez fled Colombia in 2021 after receiving death threats related to her work as a journalist.

HOW:

Rodríguez was detained during a traffic stop while in a marked Nashville Noticias vehicle.

Rodríguez's attorneys argue her arrest was an unlawful, warrantless seizure violating her Fourth Amendment rights.

Rodríguez's bond was set at $10,000 by an immigration judge.

(UPDATED March 20, 2026 09:11 UTC)

Estefany Rodríguez Flórez, a reporter for Nashville Noticias, was released from ICE custody on March 19 after spending more than two weeks detained, following her arrest during a traffic stop in Nashville on March 4. Her attorneys are pursuing a wrongful detention case, arguing that her arrest was unlawful and violated her Fourth Amendment rights, while she continues to hold a pending green card application and a valid work permit. Rodríguez contends her detention was a direct result of her critical reporting on ICE practices under Trump’s administration, and she had previously fled Colombia in 2021 due to death threats related to her journalism.