Dear Friend of Press Freedom,
It’s been 213 days since Rümeysa Öztürk was arrested for co-writing an op-ed. Read on for news from Illinois and California, and tips on how to limit exposing your location.
Rights remain under attack by immigration officers
Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF) is helping communities in California and Illinois fight back against attacks on the press during the recent immigration crackdowns. Our deputy director of advocacy, Adam Rose, joined the American Constitution Society, the Center for Media and Democracy, and Common Cause for a briefing about federal immigration officers’ recent attacks on the press, as well as efforts to fight back in court in both Chicago, Illinois, and Los Angeles, California. Journalists in both cities were able to obtain court injunctions ordering law enforcement to stop targeting the press. Rose is also the press freedom chair for the Los Angeles Press Club, one of the plaintiffs in the LA court case.
Unfortunately, those orders have not stopped U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s rampage against the First Amendment. Rose cited repeated violations of journalists’ rights during “No Kings” protests in LA this weekend, even after LA’s city council ordered lawyers to withdraw a ridiculous motion seeking to lift the injunction.
And yesterday, the Chicago plaintiffs filed a notice with the court that agents violated the order by assaulting and attempting to seize a phone from a bystander exercising her right to record their operations. Another notice flags video of top Border Patrol official Gregory Bovino tossing a tear gas canister into a crowd as if he’s throwing out a ceremonial first pitch. These are just a couple of several violations they’ve raised with the court.
Help us fight for private prison transparency
ICE’s network of for-profit detention facilities is expanding rapidly under the Trump administration. Even though these private facilities hold human beings in federal custody under federal law, they operate in secret and are not subject to the Freedom of Information Act. That needs to change.
Use our action center to tell your member of Congress that FOIA should apply to private facilities. And for more on FOIA — particularly, how to use it during a government shutdown — read the latest issue of our secrecy newsletter, The Classifieds.
Write to your member of Congress here.
Deported journalist speaks out from El Salvador
Earlier this month, the Trump administration deported journalist Mario Guevara following his June arrest while livestreaming a protest. The government proceeded with the deportation despite Guevara’s work permit and even though the baseless charges against him were dropped, arguing that his livestreaming law enforcement presents a “safety threat.”
This week, the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, a project of FPF, interviewed Guevara from El Salvador. “It’s not the way I want to come back to my country — deported like a criminal,” he told the Tracker’s Briana Erickson. “I was frustrated, but until the last minute, I still had the hope to stay in the United States because I believe in the justice of the country.
“I was the first one, but I don’t think I will be the only one,” he added.
How to limit exposing your location
Not every journalist needs to worry about location tracking — but when it matters, it really matters.
Our digital security team’s latest guide helps you assess when location tracking risks apply to your work — and what steps you can take to mitigate those risks when they do. Read it here.
What we’re reading
The press leaves the Pentagon (Columbia Journalism Review). The Pentagon’s demand that reporters surrender their right to publish news in exchange for access to press conferences is “a classic case of unconstitutional prior restraint,” FPF’s Seth Stern told CJR.
Judge orders ex-police chief who led raid on Kansas newspaper to stand trial for deleted texts (Kansas Reflector). Yes, deleting those texts was a crime, but this reminds us of prosecuting Al Capone for tax evasion. The former police chief has done a lot worse, like illegally raiding the Marion County Record’s newsroom and its publisher’s home, likely resulting in co-owner Joan Meyer’s death.
He tracked and posted videos of ICE raids in LA. Now this TikTok streamer is in federal custody (Los Angeles Times). Carlitos Ricardo Parias, who documented immigration raids, was shot during an altercation with immigration officers and is now in federal custody. FPF’s Rose explained to the Los Angeles Times that the First Amendment protects everyone’s right to record law enforcement, from journalists to cop watchers.
The secretive office approving Trump’s boat strikes (The New York Times). We shouldn’t have to guess what the law is. The Justice Department must release its memo authorizing these deadly strikes.
Disney+ cancellations surged as boycotts for Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension kicked in — here’s how big the spike was (Business Insider). Censorship is bad for America and bad for business. When companies stifle free expression, customers will take their money elsewhere.
Upcoming events
Oct. 29: FPF’s Caitlin Vogus will join an online panel of experts to break down how the Federal Communications Commission and Federal Trade Commission are targeting journalists and the First Amendment, and how to fight back. Register here for the Center for Democracy and Technology’s Future of Speech Online 2025, “Working the Refs” panel on Oct. 29 at 12:10 p.m. EDT.
That same day, join us for a conversation about making public records-based reporting free, featuring Vogus as well as our Chair on Government Secrecy Lauren Harper, in conversation with leadership at Wired and 404 Media, including Wired Global Editorial Director and FPF board member Katie Drummond. The event starts at 2 p.m. EDT; RSVP on Zoom here.
Oct. 30: Join an online discussion on Oct. 30 at 1 p.m. EDT about digital safety and legal rights for journalists reporting on immigration in the U.S., featuring FPF Director of Digital Security Harlo Holmes and several other experts from the U.S. Journalist Assistance Network. Register here.
