Immigration Front: Mayor responds to Guard Retreat from LA While One Journalist Remains Jailed in U.S.

Mayor Bass Issues Statement on the Retreat of 2,000 National Guard Troops from Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES – Mayor Bass issued the following statement after the Trump administration released approximately 2,000 National Guard deployed to Los Angeles:

“This happened because the people of Los Angeles stood united and stood strong. We organized peaceful protests, we came together at rallies, we took the Trump administration to court — all of this led to today’s retreat. 

“My message today to Angelenos is clear — I will never stop fighting for this city. We will not stop making our voices heard until this ends, not just here in LA, but throughout our country.”

The Only Journalist Behind Bars in the United States

Atlanta-based journalist Mario Guevara is arrested on June 14, 2025. (Screenshot: Fox 5 Atlanta/YouTube)

Committee to Protect Journalists or CPJ calls on United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement or ICE authorities to respect an immigration court ruling and release on bail journalist Mario Guevara, a native of El Salvador who has been legally in the U.S. for the past 20 years.

CPJ reported July 7, that ICE denied Atlanta-based journalist Mario Guevara’s bail and listed him as “not releasable,” though a judge ruled July 1 that Guevara could be released on a $7,500 bond, according to a copy of the denial reviewed by CPJ.

“We are dismayed that immigration officials have decided to ignore a federal immigration court order last week granting bail to journalist Mario Guevara,” said CPJ U.S., Canada and Caribbean Program Coordinator Katherine Jacobsen. “Guevara is currently the only jailed journalist in the United States who was arrested in relation to his work. Immigration authorities must respect the law and release him on bail instead of bouncing him from one jurisdiction to another.”

The journalist was initially arrested while covering a June 14 “No Kings” protest in the Atlanta metro area and charged with three misdemeanors, which local officials declined to prosecute due to insufficient evidence. A local judge ordered Guevara to be released on bond, but he remained in custody after ICE opened a detainer against him.