WASHINGTON – The government in Biden is limiting the information that border patrol agents and sector heads can share with the media while a surge of migrants tests the agency’s capacity at the southern border, according to two current and two former Customs and Border Protection officials.
According to officials, the restrictions are considered an unofficial ‘gag order’ and are often referred to among colleagues. The officials requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media on the subject.
Border officers were told to refuse all media requests to ‘ride’ with agents along the southern border; local press officers are instructed to send all information inquiries, even from local media, to the press office in Washington for approval; and those responsible for collecting data on the number of migrants in detention were reminded not to share the information with anyone to prevent leaks, officials said.
Several news organizations, including NBC News, have requested access to or photos of overcrowded border processing facilities with unaccompanied migrant children; they were denied.
Officials said the new restrictions were passed on orally, not through an official memorandum. The official policy has led to some agents at the border releasing videos showing mass arrests and training of migrants without Washington’s permission, two officials said.
Customs and Border Protection and the Department of Homeland Security did not offer any media tours at the newly opened processing facility in Donna, Texas, which reportedly overcame with unaccompanied migrant children, a DHS official said.
Some of the restrictions, especially for personal tours, are due to Covid-19 precautions, one of the current officials said. But, as the current official said, although the Trump administration allowed some border attacks on journalists during the pandemic, there has been “none since January 20,” the day President Joe Biden was inaugurated.
A DHS spokesman said the agency was following the standards set in 2014.
“Across the federal government, certain employees are designated as spokespersons for their respective agencies, and public statements are checked to ensure accuracy. This standard and process has been followed at the DHS since the inception of the department and across the two-tier administrations. Customs and border protection continues to provide the same monthly data on the same schedule as since 2014, ”the spokesperson said.
The Trump administration’s media strategy for DHS has often focused on the dangers posed by migrants, which sometimes increases the risk. Politically appointed public officials under President Donald Trump have pushed local border sectors to announce arrests and take national media organizations to the border to see agents in action.
“Part of maintaining public trust is to communicate regularly and regularly,” a former official said.
A second current official, who has served in the past three administrations, said the current climate for customs and border protection personnel is more in line with what it was during the Obama administration.
“It was more restrictive under Obama than under Trump, when there was more autonomy for each region to speak to the media,” the second current official said.
With the change of tone of the Biden government, committing itself to a more humane system on the southern border, some border agents released videos without permission.
Such a video was posted online over the weekend by the office of Representative Henry Cuellar, D-Texas. The video shows dozens of migrants, including young children, being transported by raft across the Rio Grande. A Cuellar spokesman said the video was recorded in March but that Congressman Cuellar could not say who gave him the video. However, two officials said the video came from a border agent.
Cuellar had earlier criticized Biden for not visiting the border during the boom.
Another important fact is the number of unaccompanied children supervising in border patrols. Although the number has historically been somewhat protected as it is sensitive to law enforcement, a congressional assistant said it was more difficult to collect the data amid a leak.
In an interview with White House reporters on March 1, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas pledged to be transparent with the media, referring to another principle I want to adhere to throughout my term, which is openness and transparency, and it includes the fourth estate. “
Mayorkas is responding to a reporter saying her access to the border patrol was denied and that the agency cited the restrictions of Covid-19. Mayorkas said he would investigate to find out why access was denied.
In a statement released Tuesday, Mayorkas said DHS was “on track to encounter more individuals on the southwestern border than we have had in the past 20 years.”
The Biden government finds itself in a difficult position when it comes to messages about immigration. On the one hand, it wants to show voters that it has a more humane approach, while on the other hand it does not want to encourage more undocumented migrants to cross the border.
Ambassador Roberta Jacobson, Biden’s coordinator for the southern border, said in the White House last week: ‘It is sometimes difficult to convey hope in the future and the danger that is now. And that’s what we’re trying to do. And I – I would definitely agree that we are trying to walk and chew gum at the same time. ‘
Geoff Bennett and Jacob Soboroff contributed.