ICE arrested Nashville journalist without warrant, attorneys say [View all]

Source: USA Today

March 6, 2026, 9:22 a.m. ET


Immigration and Custom Enforcement agents arrested a journalist working for local news outlet Nashville Noticias without an arrest warrant during a March 4 traffic stop in South Nashville, according to an emergency petition filed by her attorneys in federal court.

The journalist, Estefany Maria Rodriguez Flores, was taken to an ICE detention center and remains in custody as of 3 p.m. March 5, according to a statement from Nashville Noticias posted to social media.

Rodriguez had a meeting scheduled for March 17 with ICE's Enforcement and Removal Operations. She frequently reported on stories critical of ICE for Nashville Noticias, the Spanish-language outlet.

Nashville Noticias said in its statement on social media that it "hopes that this situation will be resolved favorably for our colleague so that she can be released soon, as she needs to reunite with her young daughter and husband to continue her legal process with the framework permitted by law." "We trust in the justice system of the United States of America," Nashville Noticias said in the statement.

Read more: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2026/03/06/ice-arrested-nashville-journalist-attorneys-say/89016211007/