NEW YORK—In recent weeks, there have been multiple reports of law enforcement officers intimidating, arresting, and detaining members of the press who were documenting ICE activities and reporting on protests in solidarity with immigrants. 

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

“Reports of ICE agents intimidating and arresting journalists at public protests are deeply alarming. The press is vital to the protection of protest rights, serving as the nation’s witness when law enforcement fails to uphold those rights. Federal law enforcement officers must respect the First Amendment rights of journalists at protests, and must face disciplinary measures when they do not.”

The following can be attributed to Nadine Farid Johnson, policy director at the Knight First Amendment Institute.

“These attacks on journalists are just one aspect of the Trump administration’s continued assault on the First Amendment freedoms that are essential to our democracy. It is particularly troubling that these agents seem to be acting with impunity. Under current law, it is extremely difficult for those targeted unlawfully to hold officials accountable for unconstitutional conduct. But Congress can step in, and it should legislate to ensure that those targeted unlawfully have meaningful remedies in court.”

AM New York reports that earlier today ICE agents assaulted one of its reporters who was attempting to document the ongoing arrests of individuals attending immigration court proceedings in Manhattan. The incident joins a growing list, including reports of journalists in Los Angeles who have had to obtain a court order protecting them from threats and assault by ICE and CBP officers; independent journalist Mario Guevara who is facing deportation after being arrested while livestreaming at a protest; and Steve Held of Chicago’s Unraveled Press who was arrested and detained on September 27 while reporting on protests outside an ICE facility.

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