ICE Arrests Colombian Journalist in Tennessee, Trump Administration Says She Will Receive Due Process

Federal immigration agents arrested a Colombian journalist working for a Spanish-language news outlet in Tennessee, drawing attention to immigration enforcement practices under President Donald Trump’s administration. Authorities say the reporter will receive full due process as her immigration case moves forward.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained Estefany Maria Rodriguez Florez, a journalist for Nashville Noticias, in Nashville, Tennessee. She was taken into custody on Thursday and transferred to an ICE detention facility, where she remains while immigration proceedings continue. ICE officials claim Rodriguez Florez violated the conditions of her visa, although her legal team says she has not yet been formally charged in an immigration case.

According to ICE and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) representatives, officers executed the arrest using an administrative warrant. A DHS spokesperson confirmed that Rodriguez Florez will be given the opportunity to challenge the allegations through the U.S. immigration court system. Officials added that she will remain in ICE custody while her case is reviewed.

Rodriguez Florez has lived in the United States for five years and works as a reporter covering local news, including stories related to immigration enforcement. Her lawyers filed an emergency petition in federal court arguing that the arrest was conducted without a proper judicial warrant and raised concerns about potential violations of free speech and due process rights. They also stated that the journalist had frequently reported on stories critical of ICE activities.

Her attorneys noted that Rodriguez Florez had a previously scheduled meeting with ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations on March 17 regarding her immigration case. That meeting had already been postponed twice—once because of a winter storm and another time after officials reportedly could not locate her appointment in the system.

The news outlet Nashville Noticias reported that Rodriguez Florez was with her husband outside a gym when immigration agents surrounded their vehicle, which was marked with the outlet’s logo, and detained her.

Legal representatives say Rodriguez Florez originally entered the United States on a tourist visa, later applied for political asylum, and eventually married a U.S. citizen. She currently holds a valid work permit, and she and her husband have applied to adjust her immigration status to become a lawful permanent resident. However, the Trump administration argues she overstayed her tourist visa, which expired in 2021.

The case highlights the broader debate over immigration enforcement, press freedom, and due process rights in the United States as the administration continues its crackdown on illegal immigration. Rights advocates argue such arrests can create a chilling effect on journalists and immigrant communities, while government officials maintain that strict immigration enforcement is necessary to strengthen border security and uphold U.S. law.