Tio Fun Taqueria in North Nashville became a makeshift call center Monday afternoon for people contacting their representatives on behalf of Estefany Rodriguez Florez, a local reporter detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
ICE arrested Rodriguez last week while she was driving a car marked with her Spanish-language outlet, Nashville Noticias. Her attorneys allege that ICE did not produce a warrant when they arrested Rodriguez, who claimed political asylum in the U.S. because she received death threats for reporting in Colombia.
ICE officials say that they did have a warrant, although evidence of one submitted to the court was partially blank and missing her alien number. A federal judge has set a Thursday deadline for ICE to submit written justification for the arrest.
Rodriguez had been reporting on immigration enforcement efforts in Nashville. Her colleagues at Nashville Noticias joined community members Monday to advocate for her release.
Singer-songwriter Karina Daza helped organize the event for Rodriguez and her husband, who she knows through the city’s music scene.
“I was shaking when I heard,” Daza said. “It doesn’t matter whether you’re here legally or not. It doesn’t even matter if you’re a citizen. Sometimes it feels like, oh my gosh, am I going to get pulled over or even detained because I don’t have my passport on me because I’m brown, because I have an accent?”
Another organizer, Vanessa Delgado, works with families who have a loved one detained by ICE. She said a spotlight on this case can also help others.
“There are a lot of other people that this is happening to. We’ve been working with families for months who have been detained. So, obviously this is important, and her story is important. We are also wanting folks to remember everyone else’s story,” Delgado said.
A hearing for Rodriguez’s case is scheduled for next week.
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