Estefany Rodriguez-Florez, a reporter for Nashville Noticias who frequently utilized her platform to criticize ICE and promote illegal immigrants, has been arrested by the very agency she often covered. The reason? She has been living in the U.S. illegally for years.
While she presented herself as a local journalist, federal records reveal a blatant disregard for U.S. immigration laws dating back to 2021. Rodriguez-Florez entered the U.S. from Colombia on March 10, 2021, on a standard 14-day tourist visa.
Rather than departing as required, she remained in the country for five years without any lawful status, eventually landing a job reporting for a local Spanish-language outlet.
ICE agents intercepted her on March 4 during a targeted operation. She was apprehended right next to her “Nashville Noticias” branded vehicle.
Legal advocates for Rodriguez-Florez quickly filed a court claim in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, alleging that agents acted without a warrant. However, federal authorities have shut down that narrative with the facts.
ICE has confirmed that officers possessed an administrative warrant at the time of the arrest. The agency clarified that these warrants are issued based on clear probable cause when a foreign national is found to be in violation of immigration law.
Although lawyers for Rodriguez-Florez claim she is pursuing asylum based on her reporting while in Columbia and threats she allegedly received in connection with her work there, there doesn’t appear to be evidence that she filed an asylum claim within the one year. After arriving in the United States, as required by law. Her husband is a U.S. citizen, but her marriage after she overstayed her tourist visa does not automatically grant her legal status in the US nor citizenship.
She is not the only Colombian facing deportation, although her case seems less dramatic than one involving a woman who voted multiple times and has stolen over $400,000 in taxpayer money.
Nevertheless, there are numerous unanswered questions about her presence in the US.
*She was apparently driving or riding in a vehicle marked with the logo of her employer, Noticias, when she was detained by ice. What Social Security number was she using for her employment? How did she obtain it? Did she engage in identity fraud to obtain a false Social Security number or submit fault Social Security number to her employer?
*Was her employer aware of her status as an illegal immigrant? Did they obtain the necessary forms when they hired her? Did she file false forms with her employer when she was hired?
*While driving in Nashville has she had the legally required car insurance?
*Has she registered to vote or voted during her time in Nashville?
*Did she file an asylum claim within the one year time. After arriving in the United States as required by law?
*How did her husband obtain his legal status in the US? Was there any fraud in his documentation? Has he broken any laws by concealing her immigration status or assisting her in evading ICE and failing to self deport?
Steve Gill is editor and publisher of TriStar Daily.
Author
