Manuel Duran, arrested Spanish-language reporter, wins asylum case
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Manuel Duran, the Memphis Spanish-language reporter whose arrest at a 2018 immigration protest led to more than 465 days behind bars and sparked international attention, lawsuits and protests in Memphis, has now won his political asylum case.
For years, Duran had faced the threat of deportation to his native El Salvador and had argued that if he were deported, he could be killed.
Duran had been free on bond since 2019 and continued to work for his online news outlet, Memphis Noticias. The Wednesday decision by a Memphis Immigration Court judge now means Duran has a clear path toward long-term legal status in the United States.
“I feel happy,” Duran, 46, said in a Spanish-language interview Thursday. “It’s a great victory and what can I tell you — I’m grateful for the work of the team of lawyers that represented me.”
There was no guarantee that Duran would win his case — between 2001 and the present, 69% of asylum claims were denied in the Memphis Immigration Court, according to data from the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University. Denial rates vary widely from judge to judge, with some judges in Memphis and across the U.S. at times denying about 100% of cases in a given year.
An arrest at a protest
The story of Duran’s arrest and detention began on April 3, 2018. A group of activists planned a protest outside the criminal justice center at 201 Poplar to call attention to local authorities’ cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.
Duran was doing a live Internet broadcast of the protest when police started making arrests. He was arrested, too.
At this point, Duran had been working in Memphis for years for Spanish-language radio stations and for his own online news outlet serving the Hispanic population. Despite his limited English, he had landed interviews with high-profile Memphians including Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland.
Who is Manuel Duran?:A look at the arrested Memphis-based reporter facing deportation
Previous coverage:New federal lawsuit in Manuel Duran case targets Memphis, Shelby County governments
Prosecutor Amy Weirich quickly announced that her office was dropping charges against Duran.
But U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers arrested Duran shortly thereafter.
The reason: according to ICE, Duran had entered the United States illegally years earlier and missed an immigration court date. The court had issued a deportation order in his absence.
He was locked up in various immigration detention centers for months while a wide range of organizations advocated for his release.
In 2019 Duran won a breakthrough: an immigration judge ordered that he could be set free on bond while his asylum case was pending.
Hearing grants Duran asylum
The nation’s immigration courts are extremely backlogged, and years passed before Duran had his appearance this week before an immigration judge.
Duran says he would like to dedicate this legal victory to immigrants who have been detained or are currently detained. “The conditions in the detention center aren’t right. These people shouldn’t be detained in these centers.”
And he said he also would like to dedicate the victory to those journalists who have been persecuted for doing their jobs by the government of Salvadoran president Nayib Bukele. “And I encourage them to keep going.”
Duran said he plans to keep working. “I think it’s going to be very important for me to continue my work, maybe now with a bit more confidence and freedom.” He said he loves doing his work and wants to keep helping his community and developing his career.
Minutes after hanging up the phone with a reporter on Thursday, Duran began a live Facebook broadcast from a job fair for the charity Goodwill Industries. He interviewed a Spanish-speaking staffer with Goodwill who highlighted benefits for new employees, including a $1,000 signing bonus. Duran encouraged people to come apply for jobs. Then he closed the broadcast:
“Thank you for trusting Memphis Noticias.”
This story will be updated.
Micaela Watts is a reporter for The Commercial Appeal and can be reached at mi***********@co**************.com.
Investigative reporter Daniel Connolly welcomes tips and comments from the public. Reach him at 529-5296, da*************@co**************.com, or on Twitter at @danielconnolly.
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