Manuel Duran, the Spanish-language journalist who was jailed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement for more than a year after he was arrested by Memphis, Tennessee, police while covering a pro-immigrant protest, has won two settlements totaling nearly $20,000. The Washington Post reports that Shelby County, which jailed Duran before he was thrown into federal immigration custody, has paid him $10,000, while the city of Memphis has settled for another $9,000. It’s an important victory for the journalist—but nowhere close to the justice he deserves.
Duran was in ICE custody for 15 months after he was arrested while covering a demonstration against police’s collusion with ICE. While charges related to the protest were dropped, he continued to remain in immigration detention. Advocates said at the time that his imminent deportation wasn’t just an effort to kick him out of the country: It was an attempt to silence him, because Duran’s media outlet had published numerous pieces critical of ICE.
The mass deportation agency has a sordid history of targeting critics. The Nation reported that the agency tracked pro-immigrant demonstrators last summer, even spying on an anti-racism rally called “Uptown Standing Together Against Racism and Xenophobia.” The peaceful demonstration, led by Rep. Adriano Espaillat, was organized in response to a white supremacist group that had also gathered in the area. The peaceful rally was tracked on the government’s spreadsheet, but the white supremacist group wasn’t. “I am shocked,” Espaillat said at the time. “Totally shocked.”
Back in Tennessee, Manuel was freed from ICE custody in July, and the court decision granting him a stay of deportation has given him precious time he needs to pursue his asylum claim. “Lawyers argue that conditions have worsened for journalists in El Salvador and Duran could be in danger if he returns,” The Washington Post continued. But he’s feeling hopeful. “I feel like I’m reborn,” he said following his release.