House Democrats are demanding answers from the Department of Homeland Security about a list of 59 mostly American reporters, attorneys and activists who have been targeted for questioning and searched when crossing the U.S-Mexican border.
Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss), chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, and Rep. Kathleen Rice (D-N.Y.), who chairs the border subcommittee, wrote Thursday to U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Kevin McAleenan, expressing “great concern” about reports of the list, which they said the agency was “using to stop, detain, question, and search reporters, attorneys, and advocates at the southern border.”
“This troubling practice … raises serious legal and constitutional questions,” the lawmakers wrote.
“The appearance that CBP is targeting journalists, lawyers, and advocates, and particularly those who work on immigration matters or report on border and immigration issues, raises questions about possible misuse of CBP’s border search authority and requires oversight to ensure the protection of Americans’ legal and constitutional rights,” they went on.
The lawmakers asked for a copy of the list, “any dossiers of those on the list, and the reasons why individuals were placed on the list.”
