The government kept a secret list of immigration reporters and activists — and arrested at least 9 of them
Late last year, the U.S. government couldn't stop talking about the thousands of Central American migrants headed through Mexico to the border. But more quietly, it was compiling a list of 59 immigration journalists, activists, and attorneys who worked with or covered the migrant caravan, documents obtained by San Diego NBC affiliate KNSD reveal.
These people would be subject to questioning if they tried to cross the border, and 12 of them actually were, the database shows. Another nine were arrested crossing the border, the Customs and Border Patrol list also details.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The database also recorded peoples' citizenships and whether they had been arrested or interviewed, or whether their visas had been canceled. A Department of Homeland Security source told KNSD that "agents also created dossiers on each person listed," with one attorney's dossier containing "the car she drives, her mother's name, and her work and travel history."
A CBP spokesperson told KNSD "the names in the database are all people who were present during violence that broke out at the border in November," and said collecting this kind of "evidence" is "protocol." Read more from KNSD or take a look at the documents here.
-
Political cartoons for February 11Cartoons Wednesday's political cartoons include erasing Epstein, the national debt, and disease on demand
-
The Week contest: Lubricant larcenyPuzzles and Quizzes
-
Can the UK take any more rain?Today’s Big Question An Atlantic jet stream is ‘stuck’ over British skies, leading to ‘biblical’ downpours and more than 40 consecutive days of rain in some areas
-
Judge rejects California’s ICE mask ban, OKs ID lawSpeed Read Federal law enforcement agents can wear masks but must display clear identification
-
Lawmakers say Epstein files implicate 6 more menSpeed Read The Trump department apparently blacked out the names of several people who should have been identified
-
Japan’s Takaichi cements power with snap election winSpeed Read President Donald Trump congratulated the conservative prime minister
-
Trump sues IRS for $10B over tax record leaksSpeed Read The president is claiming ‘reputational and financial harm’ from leaks of his tax information between 2018 and 2020
-
Trump, Senate Democrats reach DHS funding dealSpeed Read The deal will fund most of the government through September and the Department of Homeland Security for two weeks
-
Fed holds rates steady, bucking Trump pressureSpeed Read The Federal Reserve voted to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged
-
Judge slams ICE violations amid growing backlashSpeed Read ‘ICE is not a law unto itself,’ said a federal judge after the agency violated at least 96 court orders
-
Rep. Ilhan Omar attacked with unknown liquidSpeed Read This ‘small agitator isn’t going to intimidate me from doing my work’
