U.S. Customs and Border Protection has agreed to issue new directives aimed at protecting journalists from harassment and illegal interrogation at the border. This outcome stems from a case involving five photojournalists who were detained between 2018 and 2019.
According to the American Civil Liberties Union, the agency will develop protocols grounded in the First Amendment and the Privacy Act to safeguard reporters from improper interrogation by immigration officers.
The case centers on photojournalists Bing Guan, Go Nakamura, Mark Abramson, Kitra Cahana, and Ariana Drehsler, all U.S. citizens who were documenting migrant caravans traveling from Central America through Mexico. They were stopped after publishing their work when reentering the United States.
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Each journalist was subjected to secondary inspections, detention, or questioning that the lawsuit argued stemmed solely from their coverage of border issues.
Under the settlement, CBP must also ensure that the content of journalists’ reporting is not used as a basis for future stops or interrogations.
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