Federal Filing Claims Colombian-Born Journalist Arrested in Nashville Married U.S. Citizen 13 Days After Receiving Letter From ICE

An exhibit included in the federal response to the habeas corpus petition filed by Estefany Rodriguez Flores, the Colombian journalist detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) while living in Nashville, claims that she married a citizen of the United States about two weeks after she received her first letter from ICE.

The claim was made by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in a Record of Deportable/Inadmissible Alien file created after Rodriguez Flores was arrested on Wednesday, which was included as Exhibit B in the Department of Justice (DOJ) response to Rodriguez’s lawsuit against ICE, in the summary portion of the document.

According to the DHS document, “On January 21, 2026, RODRIGUEZ-Florez married a United States citizen.” (Federal documents “Estefany Rodriguez-Florez” her name; she spells it “Estefany Rodriguez Flores.”)

The Nashville Banner previously reported that Rodriguez Flores (pictured above) received her first Call-In Letter, or G-56 letter, from ICE on January 8, meaning the DHS document suggests the Colombian citizen was married just 13 days after receiving instructions to appear before immigration officials, and five days before the meeting was scheduled to take place.

In addition to revealing her recent marriage, the DHS narrative states that Rodriguez Flores only filed paperwork to adjust her legal status on February 8, one month after she received the Call-In Letter, and about three weeks after her wedding.

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The filing by Rodriguez Florez’s attorneys appears to begin differing dramatically from the DHS narrative from this point on, as Rodriguez Flores claimed that officials at the ICE Enforcement and Removal (ERO) office were unable to locate any appointment matching the information they provided.

DHS states that a member of Rodriguez Flores’ legal team visited the ICE ERO office with her husband, Alejandro Medina III, but “the attorney withheld the G-56 call in letter and only presented applications,” prompting officers to offer March 17 as a new meeting date.

Federal officials say Rodriguez Flores missed the first date without explanation, then missed the second date after her lawyers neglected to provide the Call-In Letter, which led to her detention.

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