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Border & Immigration

ACLU Sues Department Of Homeland Security Over Media Restrictions At US Border

By John Rosman / Digital Editor, KPBS
Published October 26, 2012 at 5:49 AM PDT
This story was published more than 12 years ago.

The American Civil Liberties Union is suing the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for restrictions being placed on individuals capturing photos and video at ports of entry across the U.S.-Mexico border. The lawsuit is based on a case when two activists allege authorities confiscated a camera and later deleted their photos at the California/Mexico border crossing.

AP reports:


The lawsuit said plaintiff Ray Askins took photos of an inspection area at a Calexico border crossing in April from a city street. After being handcuffed and searched, authorities returned his digital camera with photos erased.

The Calexico port director, Billy Whitford, told Askins in an email the next day that permission is needed to take photos and video at Customs and Border Protection facilities. The email makes no mention of restrictions on taking photos from a nearby street.
Mexico has just expanded new lanes to the busiest land border crossing in the world, from Tijuana to San Diego. The U.S. side is still waiting for funds to be appropriated from Congress.

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John Rosman
John Rosman is the digital editor for KPBS News. He oversees all news content on KPBS.org and across all digital properties. Prior, John was the social media editor for Fronteras Desk. Before heading south, John was a digital producer for Oregon Public Broadcasting. There he led the flagship radio program Think Out Loud in all aspects of digital media. Working with OPB's cultural website, Arts & Life, he also produced multimedia features. By way of metro Detroit, John is a proud graduate of the University of Oregon's School of Journalism. He has worked as an editor in television and film. But he found his passion for public radio during a long winter, in a lonely hotdog stand. When John's away from the office, you can find him catching up on all the sun he missed in Oregon.
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KPBS News: Public Safety Policy
KPBS has created a public safety coverage policy to guide decisions on what stories we prioritize, as well as whose narratives we need to include to tell complete stories that best serve our audiences. This policy was shaped through months of training with the Poynter Institute and feedback from the community. You can read the full policy here.
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