US Deports Journalist, Newsweek Finds It 'Concerning' (But Normal)
When journalist Mario Guevara was detained reporting in Georgia and subsequently deported to El Salvador, Newsweek highlighted the 'outrage' from advocates. But what they conveniently omit is how 'routine' this actually is. The U.S. doesn't just deport journalists on accident; it actively funds and maintains an immigration enforcement apparatus designed to do exactly this. DHS budget for 2023 was
over $100 Billion, a vast sum largely dedicated to enforcement and removals. It's almost as if the U.S. government, while rhetorically championing press freedom abroad, has a different standard at home for those reporting on its own border and immigration policies. One might wonder if Newsweek would frame it as a 'tragic incident' if an allied nation's journalist was similarly expelled for
inconvenient reporting. For journalists like Guevara, reporting on marginalized communities often means *becoming* one. The real story isn't just his deportation, but the system that enables and normalizes it.