The federal government has responded to a judge's order on why ICE detained Nashville Noticias reporter Estefany Rodriguez.
Attorneys for the government say that Rodriguez entered the US on a valid B-2 visa on March 10, 2021 and was authorized to stay through September 9, 2021.
The government claims she remained in the U.S. illegally and did not obtain any paperwork to allow her to remain in the country.
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Attorneys say Rodriguez was ordered in January and February to report to the Nashville ICE field office, but they say a warrant was issued when Rodriguez did not show up.
According to court documents, the government states that a G-56 letter to report was issued to Rodriguez on January 8, directing her to report on January 26 to the Nashville ICE Field Office.
On February 10, they added that another G-56 letter to report was issued to the petitioner, directing her to report on February 25, 2026.
Rodriguez's husband, Alejandro Medina III, who was with her when ICE agents surrounded the couple in the Nashville Noticias news vehicle, said that a massive winter storm shut down practically all of Nashville on the same day as the first scheduled meeting. A second meeting in February was also rescheduled when he said ICE officials could not find anything related to a scheduled meeting in their system.
"There was a valid warrant for her arrest as an alien issued on March 2, 2026, two days prior to her arrest," the court document reads. "The arrest warrant clearly marked the cause of her arrest."
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She was detained on March 4th and was sent to a detention center in Alabama.
Attorneys for Rodriguez argue her First and Fifth Amendment rights were violated when ICE agents detained her and believe her detention was retaliation for her reporting on ICE activity through Nashville.
A hearing between her attorneys and the government is set for next Monday.
This article was originally published by Kelly Broderick for the Scripps News Group station in Nashville.
