RELEASE: FIGHTING THE UNLAWFUL ARREST AND DETENTION OF ESTEFANY RODRIGUEZ
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 9, 2026
CONTACT
media@tnimmigrant.org
FIGHTING THE UNLAWFUL ARREST AND DETENTION OF ESTEFANY RODRIGUEZ
NASHVILLE—Following the arrest of journalist Estefany Rodriguez on Wednesday, March 4, attorneys for the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC) filed an emergency petition for writ of habeas corpus to challenge her unlawful detention.
On Sunday night, TIRRC filed an amendment to her petition asserting the details of her arrest and detention indicate retaliation against her in violation of the First Amendment due to her work as a journalist, including reporting on ICE.
Click here to read the amended petition including the First Amendment claim.
Click here to read the government’s preliminary response.
Click here to read the petitioner’s reply to the preliminary response.
Click here to read the petitioner’s supplemental reply addressing DHS social media claims.
The following is a statement from Mike Holley, attorney at the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition:
“TIRRC filed Estafany’s petition in court because she is the latest face in ICE’s increasingly unlawful and abusive campaign against immigrant communities. What happened to Estefany is devastating but far too common as across the country ICE continues to execute warrantless searches and arrests. Even the second warrant—posted by DHS to social media—shows that it was issued after Estefany’s arrest and transfer to the ICE office. It remains clear her arrest was warrantless.
Estafany’s detention is even more concerning given her role as a Spanish-language journalist who frequently spoke truth to power by reporting on the facts of this administration’s use of immigration crackdowns to reshape our country. To be taken from her marked press car reeks of retaliation against her for exercising her First Amendment rights. Freedom of speech, and especially the freedom to speak up when our government is harming its people, is a bedrock principle of our democracy. To continue seeing this foundation eroded under this administration should concern us all, and Estefany’s story is a frightening example of what is to come if we do not use every avenue afforded to us to hold this administration to account, including recourse in the courts.”
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The Tennessee Immigrant & Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC) is a statewide, immigrant and refugee-led collaboration whose mission is to build power, amplify our voices, and organize communities to advocate for our rights in order to build a stronger, more inclusive Tennessee where people of all nationalities, immigration statuses, and racial identities can belong and thrive. Since its founding in 2001, TIRRC has grown from a grassroots network of community leaders into one of the most diverse and effective coalitions of its kind, a model for emerging immigrant rights organizations in the Southeast and throughout the United States.