ACLU sues DHS for allegedly tracking, interrogating reporters

The American Civil Liberties Union announced Wednesday it is suing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for allegedly violating the First Amendment over claims it tracked and interrogated five journalists between 2018 and 2019.

The lawsuit highlights accounts from five freelance journalists who say they were stopped by Customs and Border Protection (CBP), which falls under DHS, while traveling to and from Mexico to report on a group of migrants who were traveling to the U.S.-Mexico border.

All five journalists in the suit — Bing Guan, Go Nakamura, Kitra Cahana, Ariana Drehsler and Mark Abramson — say they were sent to secondary inspection and interrogated about their reporting at least once.

“Plaintiffs were each impermissibly compelled to disclose information about their journalism work and activities when they sought to re-enter the United States. The border officers’ questioning aimed at uncovering Plaintiffs’ sources of information and their observations as journalists was unconstitutional,” reads the lawsuit, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. 

“This questioning was unrelated to any valid immigration or customs purpose. Plaintiffs seek a declaratory judgment that such questioning and compelled disclosure of information violated the First Amendment.”

DHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Hill.

“As a matter of policy, CBP does not comment on pending litigation. However, lack of comment should not be construed as agreement or stipulation with any of the allegations,” a CBP spokesperson told The Hill. 

The lawsuit comes months after reports surfaced in March that the government kept a database of journalists and activists who were associated with covering or raising awareness of one of the so-called migrant caravans last year. The database reportedly included headshots and other identifying information, such as date of birth and people’s “role” regarding the migrant caravan.

“When I saw my photo crossed out in a secret government database, I realized the secondary screening and interrogation weren’t random. I was being targeted by my own government for reporting on conditions at the border,” Guan said in a statement to CNN. 

CBP acknowledged earlier this year that it had identified people who could have had information regarding two separate incidents near the border but that its “efforts to gather this type of information are a standard law enforcement practice.”

“CBP does not target journalists for inspection based on their occupation or their reporting. CBP has policies in place that prohibit discrimination against arriving travelers and has specific provisions regarding encounters with journalists,” the agency said.