CBP Put A Bunch Of Journalists, Immigration Lawyers, And Activists On A Secret Watchlist

Leaked documents obtained by an NBC affiliate show the government has taken a direct interest in journalists and activists covering the many, many happenings at our southern border. But the government isn't interested in keeping them safe or giving them the space to do their jobs. Nope, the CBP has been treating journalists like suspected criminals, hauling them in for hours of questioning and examining the contents of their phones and laptops.

Oh well. I guess the First Amendment had a good run.

Documents obtained by NBC 7 Investigates show the U.S. government created a secret database of activists, journalists, and social media influencers tied to the migrant caravan and in some cases, placed alerts on their passports.

[...]

One photojournalist said she was pulled into secondary inspections three times and asked questions about who she saw and photographed in Tijuana shelters. Another photojournalist said she spent 13 hours detained by Mexican authorities when she tried to cross the border into Mexico City. Eventually, she was denied entry into Mexico and sent back to the U.S.

The documents (which appear to be screenshots of the CBP database) show an extensive list of journalists and activists, along with notes stating whether or not the person was interviewed and/or placed on a CBP "alert" list. The surveillance of protected First Amendment activities is apparently part of the DHS's "Operation Secure Line," which monitored the caravan travelling through Mexico to the US border.

Here's who's on the list, according to NBC 7's investigation:

The individuals listed include ten journalists, seven of whom are U.S. citizens, a U.S. attorney, and 47 people from the U.S. and other countries, labeled as organizers, instigators or their roles "unknown." The target list includes advocates from organizations like Border Angels and Pueblo Sin Frontera.

The CBP's first statement said this all just normal border-protecting stuff. According to its initial deflection, adding journalists and activists to watchlists that targeted them for enhanced screening and other unpleasantness is all part of the government's plan to address the multiple caravans headed for our borders. The CBP statement does not explain why targeting lawyers, activists, and journalists is considered an appropriate use of government resources. In fact, it doesn't attempt to address the database and its contents at all.

And it's not just secondary screenings and hours-long interviews of people engaging in protected speech. The DHS is apparently compiling entire dossiers about this group of targets -- none of which is suspected of participating in criminal behavior. According to a DHS source quoted in the article, the agency doesn't have the authority to compile information on people not suspected of criminal activity. As the unnamed person notes, DHS isn't an intelligence agency. It's a law enforcement agency.

CBP now appears to be in panic mode. An update added to the story indicates the agency is throwing any justification it can against the wall in hopes of something sticking.

Minutes after our story published and five days after a Customs and Border Protection spokesperson gave us the agency's statement above, CBP told our colleagues at NBC News that the names in the database are all people who were present during violence that broke out at the border in November. The agency also said journalists are being tracked so that the agency can learn more about what started that violence. CBP never clarified that point directly to NBC 7 Investigates.

Even this hasty course correction is a spectacular failure of logic. The CBP is investigating a confrontation at the border... by placing journalists, lawyers, and activists under surveillance? That makes no sense. The CBP can speak to these people without placing them on an alert list and subjecting them to enhanced screening and device searches. If the agency needs to interview witnesses, there are processes for that -- none of which look like an attempt to chill press freedom and pro-immigrant activism at the border.