A reporter based in Tennessee who was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers has reportedly gone missing. According to Estefany Rodríguez's family, they could not track her after federal authorities detained her without a warrant on Wednesday.

Prior to her reported disappearance, Rodríguez was transferred to the Central Louisiana ICE Processing Center. Now, her family and colleagues face uncertainty as her whereabouts remain unknown.

Rodríguez, a journalist for Spanish-language outlet Nashville Notícias, was taken by ICE officers on Wednesday without a warrant. On Friday, however, her family could no longer track her.

'We don't know where she is,' her husband, Alejandro, told Manríquez. According to the editor, theICE detainee locatorinitially showed that Rodríguez was in Alabama. However, 'Now it shows zero results for her.'

The development has alarmed many. Some called the arrest 'illegal' and 'criminal.' Another X user suggested it was 'not a good sign', citing a similar incident involving a family friend. 'From what I understand, this usually means she got switched to another detention centre or is already in the process of deportation,' @xvzn34commented.

🚨ALERT: ICE HAS DISAPPEARED NASHVILLE NOTICIAS REPORTER ESTEFANY RODRÍGUEZ"We don't know where she is," her husband Alejandro told me, though the ICE detainee locator had put her in Alabama. Now it shows zero results for her.Last he heard from his wife was 10am Wednesday…https://t.co/YZq6AQQIUWpic.twitter.com/bXlKJQNiy5

ICE agents apprehended Rodríguez on Wednesday without a warrant, a move that has drawn criticism from legal experts and human rights groups. She was subsequently transported to a detention facility in Louisiana, whichcomplicateslegal efforts to secure her release, physically removing her from her community and legal counsel in Tennessee.

TheCommittee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)has called for her immediate release, describing the detention as a threat to press freedom. CPJ US, Canada, and Caribbean Programme Coordinator Katherine Jacobsen described Rodríguez's arrest as 'part of a shameful and alarming pattern of the Trump administration's use of immigration authorities to clamp down on freedom of the press.' Jacobsen noted that Rodríguez came to the US legally to 'seek safety from death threats she received for her reporting in her native Colombia.'

'The United States has traditionally been a safe haven for journalists fleeing retaliation in connection with their work. With Rodríguez's case, federal authorities have shown a cruel disregard for this tradition,' Jacobsen added.

Rodríguez is well-known in the Nashville area for her diligent reporting on the Hispanic community and the impact of federal enforcement. She has spent a significant portion of her career covering a series of ICE raids, providing a voice to those often ignored by mainstream media.

Source: International Business Times UK