First there was the “Maryland Dad,” and now the “journalist.” The propaganda press refuses to say “illegal alien” when describing people like Mario Guevara, detained for being in the U.S. without permission.  

Guevara — a Spanish-speaking activist-journalist who illegally entered the U.S. 21 years ago, according to the Department of Homeland Security — was arrested by the Doraville Police Department while livestreaming video of the June 14 “No Kings” rally near Atlanta, Georgia.

Police body camera video shows he stood in the street briefly, shooting video while police were trying to clear the area of protesters. He attended the event wearing a helmet, a black vest printed with the word “Press,” and a press pass lanyard hanging off his neck.

Because of his immigration status, after local police finished with Guevara, they handed him over to ICE.

Now he has become a media darling, and he has lawyered up to stop his deportation.

Taxpayer-funded National Public Radio (NPR) promoted his story on “Morning Edition,” featuring an interview from Katherine Jacobsen, a program coordinator for the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

“A video of the incident shows Guevara wearing a visible press pass and verbally identifying himself as a journalist to officers prior to his arrest,” a Society of Professional Journalists press release notes. But that does not give him a pass. Journalists must follow the same rules as the general public. If a police officer tells a journalist to move, he should move.  

NPR and other political propaganda outlets want to make this about his work as a journalist, not his immigration status. But it is only about his immigration status. Being present in the U.S. without authorization is a crime with consequences.  

“Guevara was initially detained because he was recording a protest,” Jacobson misinformed on “Morning Edition.” In truth, he was arrested for standing in the road after being asked to clear the area, not for recording.

“Guevara was doing his job and reporting the news. To use that as a pretext to hold him — a journalist — for a very long period of time in law enforcement detention, and then to transfer him to ICE detention after, that is something that we haven’t seen before and is an incredibly alarming precedent to set,” Jacobsen said.

Guevara’s attorney claimed Guevara entered the U.S. legally on a visa, has a work authorization, and his immigration status had been pending, NPR reported.

That is not how Guevara describes his entrance into the U.S. on his professional LinkedIn biography.

“In April 2004, I immigrated to the United States seeking political asylum after being threatened by the Salvadorian armed groups. I had previously covered several illegal actions of these groups,” Guevara wrote. After working for other Spanish-language outlets, he started his own online news service a year ago, mostly covering U.S. immigration issues and community happenings in El Salvador. He appears to be well known in his community.

But after 21 years, he apparently still has not been granted asylum or sorted out his immigration status.  

While Guevara is a journalist, his work is unrelated to why he was detained, according to DHS.

“Accusations that Mario Guevara was arrested by ICE because he is a journalist are completely FALSE. Mario Guevera was arrested by Dekalb County, Georgia police for willful obstruction after he refused to comply with local police orders to move out of the middle of the street,” DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin told The Federalist in an emailed statement. “Following his arrest by local authorities, ICE placed a detainer on him. Following his release, he was turned over to ICE custody and has been placed in removal proceedings. This El Salvador national is in ICE custody because he entered the country illegally in 2004.”

McLaughlin urges illegal aliens to take control of their departure with the CBP Home App.

“The United States is offering illegal aliens $1,000 and a free flight to self-deport now. We encourage every person here illegally to take advantage of this offer and reserve the chance to come back to the U.S. the right legal way to live the American dream. If not, you will be arrested and deported without a chance to return.”