National Press Club press freedom honoree Emilio Gutiérrez Soto wins asylum after 15-year wait

WASHINGTON, Sept. 14, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- A National Press Club press freedom honoree who has been battling attempts to deport him to a country where he was threatened with death finally has won asylum in the United States.

Fifteen years after coming to the U.S. legally and seeking refuge, Mexican journalist Emilio Gutiérrez Soto this week received word that the Board of Immigration Appeals has ruled him eligible for asylum. 

In a five-page opinion sent to Gutiérrez's lawyer, Eduardo Beckett, the BIA ruled that an El Paso immigration judge's two decisions against Gutiérrez were "clearly erroneous." 

The three-judge panel ruled that Gutiérrez, whose home was ransacked by members of the Mexican military before he fled Mexico, "has a well-founded fear of persecution in Mexico." The judges cited Gutiérrez's "journalistic work that was critical of the military" and the "numerous letters and extensive declarations in support" of Gutiérrez's asylum bid.

"It has been a long journey, and these past 15 years have been difficult. But today, justice has won," Gutiérrez, 60, said from Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he now resides. He was 45 when he fled Ascensión, Chihuahua, Mexico, after a confidential source told him that his reporting on the military's efforts to shake down locals had made him a marked man. In Mexico, journalists are routinely targeted by drug cartels and corrupt government officials. Since 1992, more than 150 journalists have been killed in Mexico, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, making it the most dangerous place to work for reporters outside a war zone. 

The ruling is a victory for the National Press Club and numerous press freedom organizations. The Press Club became involved in the Gutiérrez case six years ago, after inviting him to accept the John Aubuchon Press Freedom award on behalf of journalists in Mexico. 

On December 07, 2017, two months after Gutiérrez's speech in Washington, D.C., criticizing  U.S. immigration policies, Department of Homeland Security officials abruptly handcuffed him during a routine check-in at the El Paso office and drove him toward the nearby border for deportation. When the Board of Immigration Appeals ordered DHS not to deport him, the officials put him in detention instead. Despite the appeals of the Press Club, the bishop of El Paso and numerous other advocates, Gutiérrez remained behind bars for nine months. He was released only after a class of students at Rutgers University Law School International Human Rights Clinic, headed by Professor Penny Venetis, brought a habeas corpus case at the behest of the National Press Club.

"As Martin Luther King, Jr., once said, 'the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.' We saw this with Emilio," said National Press Club President Eileen O'Reilly. "On behalf of the many past presidents, press freedom team and members of the Press Club who continued the fight during Emilio's long ordeal, I praise the Board of Immigration Appeals for its decision and urge immigration officials to expedite asylum requests for the many journalists who are forced to leave their homes to continue their very important work."

Gil Klein, president of the Club's nonprofit affiliate National Press Club Journalism Institute, added: "As frustrating as this long ordeal has been, we can also find inspiration from the remarkable team of lawyers, human rights advocates and press freedom organizations that it brought together. It sends a powerful message that the work of journalists is critically important, and efforts to dismiss their safety or deny their work will rally - not quiet - the people behind them."

Gutiérrez thanked the Press Club and the more than 20 other journalism organizations who joined his legal fight, including the Knight-Wallace Fellowships, a prestigious journalism fellowship program that accepted him while he was still in detention. 

"I extend eternal gratitude and solidarity to the National Press Club, to the Knight-Wallace Fellowships and the University of Michigan and to the many journalism and press freedom organizations that have been steadfast in their support of me," Gutiérrez said. "I hope that my case will shine a light on the need to protect those journalists in Mexico and around the world who are working and risking their lives to tell the truth."

The National Press Club plans to host a roundtable on the Gutiérrez case in the near future to discuss lessons learned and how we can do a better job for journalists at risk going forward. The National Press Club Institute, represented by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, continues to press its Freedom of Information Act case seeking release of Department of Homeland Security documents and communications related to Gutiérrez.

Press contacts:
Bill McCarren, National Press Club, [email protected], 202-662-7534
Michele Salcedo, Spanish-language media requests, 202-569-4955

THE GUTIÉRREZ CASE: FAQ

Q. Where did Emilio Gutiérrez Soto work as a journalist?
A.  Gutiérrez worked for a number of newspapers in Mexico. His last job, in 2008, was in the Ascension, Chihuahua, bureau of El Diario del Noroeste. 

Q. Why did Gutiérrez leave Mexico?
A.  After reporting that local military officials robbed guests at a local hotel, Gutiérrez was threatened by the military in front of his then-young son. He reported this encounter, and following that and further reporting, his home was raided, without warrant, by members of the Mexican military on May 5, 2008. Subsequently, a confidential source informed him that a hit had been put out on him. 

Q. How did Gutiérrez come to the United States?
A.  Gutiérrez entered the United States in June 2008 at a border crossing in Antelope Wells, New Mexico. He requested asylum for himself and his then 15-year-old son. The two were separated and held in detention. Seven months later, immigration officials ruled that Gutiérrez had "credible fear" of going back to Mexico and released him to live in the United States while his case was adjudicated. In the years that followed, Gutiérrez never missed an appointment with ICE and built deep community and connections in the United States. 

Q: What happened to Gutiérrez's asylum case in the following years?
A.  On July 19, 2017, Immigration Judge Robert Hough denied his asylum claim. Among other things, Hough said he did not believe Gutiérrez is a journalist, even though the case file included more than 100 clips from Gutiérrez's career as a reporter. The following year, librarians and translators at the University of Michigan translated more than 100 of Gutiérrez's bylined stories into English because Hough wouldn't accept them as evidence in Spanish.

Q. How did the National Press Club become involved in Gutiérrez's case?
A.  In 2017, the Press Club recognized the journalists of Mexico with a John Aubuchon Press Freedom award. The Club invited Gutiérrez to Washington to accept the award on their behalf. Two months after his speech, which was outspoken about U.S. immigration policies towards Mexicans, Gutiérrez was detained by immigration officials in New Mexico on Dec. 7 without explanation. Suspecting retaliation, the Press Club intervened.

Q. Who else advocated for Gutiérrez?
A.  In 2011, Gutiérrez and two other Mexican journalists received the National Association of Hispanic Journalists President's Award to draw attention to their persecution in Mexico and their applications for asylum. More than 20 professional press organizations have signed friend-of-the court briefs. The Rutgers University International Law Clinic filed a habeas corpus case on Gutiérrez's behalf on March 6, 2018. The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press is representing the National Press Club Journalism Institute in an ongoing FOIA case to obtain internal DHS communications regarding Gutiérrez's case. A lead plaintiff on that FOIA case is Kathy Kiely, Lee Hills Chair for Press Freedom at the Missouri School of Journalism. She was the Institute's inaugural press freedom fellow when the case was filed. Reps. Debbie Dingell, D-Mich., and Fred Upton, R-Mich., have supported his case for asylum. Then-Rep. Beto O'Rourke, D-Texas, visited Emilio in detention and called for his release. So did El Paso Bishop Mark Seitz. The Washington Post editorialized on Emilio's behalf. 

Q. Where is Emilio living now?
A.  Emilio lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he decided to remain following the conclusion of his 2018-19 Knight-Wallace journalism fellowship at the University of Michigan. 

Q. What happens next for Gutiérrez?
A.  The three-judge panel declared Gutiérrez eligible for asylum in an opinion dated Sept. 5, 2023, and ordered the Department of Homeland Security to run his biometrics that are necessary for him to receive asylum. Gutiérrez intends to go to El Paso in person to pick up the order granting him asylum. 

Q. Does this case set any precedent for other journalists seeking asylum in the United States?
A.  The opinion is significant not only because it definitely finds that Gutiérrez is entitled to political asylum, but also because it recognizes that journalists like Gutiérrez belong to a recognizable group that is singled out for persecution. This finding could help other journalists who are seeking asylum. Although we are disappointed that the opinion is not slated for publication by the court, we know that it could still have a significant impact, as other journalists can cite it in their asylum applications. The National Press Club and Gutiérrez's supporters will do everything in our power to make sure that it is formally published, so that it is more readily accessible to journalists who are fleeing persecution simply for doing their jobs. 

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