Judge hears arguments for Mexican journalist Emilio Gutirrez-Soto’s asylum

An immigration hearing for Mexican journalist Emilio Gutierrez-Soto took place Monday, as part of an effort by the journalist to gain asylum in the United States from threats he believes are associated to his reporting.

Officials from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Department of Homeland Security and Eduardo Beckett, the lead attorney for Gutierrez-Soto, made presentations in the hearing for Gutierrez-Soto and his son, Oscar.

During the hearing, recounts of Gutierrez-Soto’s reporting on information about the Mexican military were brought up. According to arguments, it was these reports that led to the military threatening to kill Gutierrez-Soto on three occasions, including one at his own home.

The presiding judge, Robert Hough, who denied the asylum request of Gutierrez-Soto in July 2017, stated his ruling will be written and presented at a later date, rather than in a courtroom.

At a press conference following the hearing, lead attorney Eduardo Beckett discussed his hopes Jude Hough will consider new evidence for the case, Gutierrez-Soto’s work as a journalist, as well as the hardships associated with being granted asylum.

“Here in El Paso, Texas, asylum is very hard to receive. If you look at the rates of immigration judges in this region, it’s like 98% denial,” said Beckett.

Before Monday’s hearing, Judge Hough denied Beckett’s request for a change of venue to Michigan, which prompted the hearing to take place as scheduled.

Beckett has since been critical of the denial, as well as Judge Hough, and echoed these thoughts during the conference.

“We in good faith believe that the judge has a bias against my client,” Beckett said. “We’ve asked the Judge to change venue, and the Judge is adamant to keep the case here.”

Gutierrez-Soto has a right to appeal should his request for asylum be denied.

In December of 2017, Judge Hough issued a deportation ruling against Gutierrez-Soto and his son, but was able to stay in the country after his legal team applied for an emergency stay order U.S. Board of Immigration Appeals.

Gutierrez-Soto and his son were placed in detention at the El Paso Processing Center for eight months after ICE found the pair to be a “flight risk.”

Currently, the father and son live in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where Gutierrez-Soto is a Knight–Wallace journalism fellow.

Gutierrez sought asylum in the U.S. in 2008, saying he faced death threats in Mexico due to his work as a reporter.

According to Reporters Without Borders, an international nonprofit, non-governmental organization, Mexico is the deadliest country in the Western Hemisphere for journalists.

The organization reported at least six reporters have been killed in Mexico in 2018.