The IWMF Condemns Recent Retaliation Against Journalists by U.S. Customs and Border Protection

The International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF) is deeply disturbed by the recent screening list drafted and enforced by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) against journalists and aid workers at the U.S.—Mexico border.

Targeting, intimidating and arresting journalists under the guise of a “national security imperative” is an alarming violation of press freedom. By imposing “secondary screenings” against select journalists – including women within the IWMF’s network – CBP is setting an unlawful precedent that journalists can be detained without reasonable suspicion of criminal activity.

The list of 29 journalists, lawyers and activists, which was compiled on January 9, 2019, classifies workers simply performing their jobs as instigators. The women within the IWMF network who are included on the list in January were on assignment in Tijuana covering regional civic and social issues as well as the migrant caravan.

This purposeful retaliation against journalists cannot stand. The IWMF calls for the dissolution of this list as well as any other like-minded screening and detainment activities that target and censor the press.