Mexican journalist Emilio Gutiérrez Soto was granted asylum in an El Paso, Texas, courtroom on March 18, six months after he was declared eligible for asylum by the U.S. Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) in September 2023. Soto fled Mexico 15 years ago after receiving death threats for his reporting on the military. Despite turning himself in at the border, he faced years of detention and deportation threats.
"Our hearts are full to hear the news that Emilio Gutiérrez Soto has finally been granted asylum," said Emily Wilkins, president of the National Press Club, which played a key role advocating for Soto and filing a Freedom of Information Act request that pressured the government. “He has not slept soundly one night in the U.S. We know this will be that night with many more in the future.”
Wilkins said that Gutiérrez Soto's case illustrates the frustrating, unnecessary and numerous hurdles for journalists who seek asylum in the U.S. She called on the U.S. government "to promote press freedom for those like Emilio who were forced to leave their countries because of their reporting."
