NEW YORK—As people gather in Los Angeles and other areas of the country to express their opposition to the tactics being used by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other agencies against immigrants, the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University calls on all law enforcement officers to uphold the rights of protesters and of the press. Nonviolent protest is firmly protected by the First Amendment, as is the media’s right to document protests. 

The following can be attributed to Katy Glenn Bass, research director at the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University:

“Law enforcement’s most important job at a protest is to protect First Amendment rights. Particularly as the Trump administration appears to be trying to provoke a crisis by deploying the National Guard and other military units to nonviolent protests, it is imperative for all federal, state, and local officers on scene to ensure that people can exercise their First Amendment rights, and that media can document the scene, without interference. These rights are essential to our democracy.”

For more information, contact: Adriana Lamirande, [email protected].