The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) continues to block media access to border facilities.
As a result, the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) is calling for the department to put an end to this blockade. President Joe Biden’s spokespeople cite COVID-19, and privacy concerns have forced it to end the practice of media ride-alongs with border officials.
Furthermore, reporters and photographers have not been allowed inside the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) facilities that first became infamous during former President Trump’s crackdown on immigration.
“President Joe Biden promised both a more humane approach to immigration and more transparency than his predecessor. His administration’s refusal to let journalists fully observe and assess the growing humanitarian crisis at the border involving unaccompanied migrant children shows he is failing on both promises,” SPJ said in the statement, per The Hill.
A spokesman for DHS didn’t respond to any questions concerning the SPJ letter. Also, the White House is under scrutiny recently for the media blackout as mainstream news outlets suchs as NBC report on the restrictions.
Eduardo Razo is the Assistant Content Editor for BNM, which includes writing daily news stories on the news media industry. He can be found on Twitter @eddierazo_ or you can reach him by email at eddie1991razo@gmail.com.
