Husband of Nashville reporter detained by ICE is determined to get her back
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Alejandro Medina III has been pacing back and forth in his dwelling, taking one telephone name after one other since ICE brokers detained his spouse, Nashville Noticias journalist Estefany Rodríguez Florez, on Wednesday.
Medina mentioned the couple had simply dropped off their daughter at a bus cease when, simply blocks away, ICE brokers rushed over with weapons drawn looking for Rodríguez.
“He’s knocking on the window and he’s saying Estefany Rodríguez, you’re here illegally. You gotta go,” Medina mentioned.
Medina advised the agent his spouse entered the nation legally on a visa in 2021 and was ready on her asylum to be authorised — asylum she hoped to achieve after fleeing Colombia, the place she acquired threats for reporting on militant teams.
ICE officers advised Medina the explanation for his spouse’s arrest was that they thought-about her a flight danger for lacking 2 conferences.
“They make it seem like she missed two visits,” Medina mentioned.
Medina mentioned it wasn’t till January of this yr earlier than Rodríguez was contacted by ICE for the primary time. He mentioned they acquired a letter requesting that she go to their workplace on January 26.
A large winter storm shut down virtually all of Nashville that very same weekend, which meant ICE workplaces had been closed.
Medina mentioned they acquired one other letter within the mail for a make-up appointment, however when he requested ICE days prematurely, they could not discover something a few scheduled assembly. Attorney Caleb Mundy and Medina double and triple-checked with an obligation officer to see if Rodriguez had to present up, and the officer advised them “no.”
“They just can’t find this letter in their system. They can’t find the date in the system that she’s supposed to come for a visit. They can’t find any of that in their system,” Medina mentioned.
Medina mentioned he knew his spouse was transported to an ICE facility in Alabama earlier than probably being despatched to a facility in Louisiana. Panic started to set in Friday, as Medina and others struggled to discover Rodriguez within the ICE database. We later realized that ICE had Rodriguez entered by her full identify, Estefany Rodríguez Florez.
Rodríguez’s attorneys say they’re involved she was focused for her reporting, which at occasions has been essential of ICE operations round Nashville.
When requested if he had ever been involved about his spouse’s reporting placing her in hurt’s approach, Medina mentioned he understood her ardour for talking out irrespective of the dangers.
“For certain topics, there’s different risks. Every morning when she goes out to report the news, I worry about my wife and I pray for her safety,” Medina mentioned.
Rodriguez’s attorneys filed an emergency petition in federal court docket looking for a writ of habeas corpus, demanding a right away evaluate of whether or not his detention was authorized.
Medina mentioned he has not heard from his spouse since her detention. Despite the urgency, he mentioned he is attempting to follow endurance.
“I’m doing everything that I can to get her as quickly as possible, so we can finally go on our honeymoon,” Medina mentioned.
Medina held back considering tears in regards to the honeymoon that was as soon as placed on pause after an ice storm, just for one other sort of ICE to as soon as once more get in the way in which.
“Everybody that knows her, really cares about her and I think there’s also a lot of reporters and a lot of journalists that feel passionate about one of their colleagues,” Medina mentioned.
Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell shared his ideas on Friday, when requested about ICE detaining Rodríguez:
“I think Estefany’s case is another example of how this is not about dangerous criminals or even current legal status because she has been in a process of asylum review. And, so, I think this is absolutely highlighting why some of the federal approaches are not right for Tennesseans, and they’re certainly not right for Nashvillians.”
State Rep. John Ray Clemmons of Nashville also sent the following statement:
“Ms. Rodríquez Florez serves an essential function in our group as a trusted journalist. She supplies a useful service by shining a well-deserved mild on the numerous contributions of the immigrant group in our metropolis and area and overlaying native and state politics. When you take into account the substance of her work and her latest reporting on anti-immigrant laws sponsored by Republican state legislators, her arrest is all probably the most alarming. This is a person who entered our nation lawfully, adopted the foundations and legal guidelines, as instructed by our authorities, and is actively working to change into a US citizen. She got here right here in pursuit of liberty and happiness and to benefit from the constitutional protections afforded the press solely to be unlawfully disadvantaged of all of her rights. I be a part of many others in praying that her authorized efforts are profitable and that she is launched quickly in order that she will proceed her very important journalistic efforts to maintain our authorities and authorities officers, like me and others, accountable.”
