A Nashville journalist is speaking out for the first time since being released from federal immigration detention, describing the experience as frightening and saying her legal fight is still ongoing.

Estefany Rodriguez, a reporter with Nashville Noticias, spent 16 days in ICE custody before being released on bond. She recently sat down with her news director to share what she went through and what comes next.

Rodriguez said she was detained on March 4 in South Nashville, even though she believed she was fully compliant with her immigration process.

“I was never in this country a single day without legal status,” she said. “Everything was done legally and correctly.”

She said confusion around missed immigration appointments, including one during January’s ice storm, may have played a role in her arrest.

One of the hardest parts of those 16 days, Rodriguez said, was losing contact with her family for several days after she was taken into custody, including her young daughter.

“Not knowing about my family was terrifying,” she said. “Especially about my daughter.”

After initially being held at a local facility, Rodriguez was transferred to a larger immigration detention center in Louisiana, where she was held with dozens of other women.

She described the conditions as deeply troubling.

“This I wouldn’t wish on a criminal,” she said. “It’s so inhumane what you live.”

Rodriguez said many of the women around her had been detained for months with unresolved cases and limited access to legal representation.

ICE previously said Rodriguez was arrested during a targeted enforcement operation and claimed she had violated her visa. The agency said officers had an administrative warrant and stood by the arrest.

Rodriguez is now out on bond, but her case is still moving through the courts.

Her legal team says she has several possible paths forward, including a pending asylum case and a potential green card through her marriage to a U.S. citizen. Attorneys are also pursuing a federal legal challenge related to how the arrest was carried out.

Rodriguez said the experience has strengthened her commitment to journalism and the community she covers.

“You can’t be a good journalist if you don’t care about people,” she said. “I want people to know that I do care.”

She said she has received strong support from the community since her release and plans to return to work soon.

For now, her focus is on her family and those still in detention.

“My heart is with everyone who is living this situation every day,” she said.