According to a photographer from Getty Images at the intersection, the news media gained “zero access” to the border between America and Mexico under President Biden.
Journalists have flocked to the border in recent weeks to cover the crisis as tens of thousands of migrants in Central America – including unaccompanied children – attempt the dangerous journey.
However, according to lensman John Moore, they experienced restrictive conditions, while U.S. authorities hampered their ability to tell the story.
“I respectfully urge US Customs and Border Protection to stop blocking media access to their border operations,” Moore tweeted Friday. “I photographed CBP under Bush, Obama and Trump, but now no media access is granted.”
In the wire, Moore included dramatic shots of the intersection – which could not work in the U.S., he said he took from the Mexican side of the border with a tele-lens.
“Until now, American photojournalists did not need to stand in another country to photograph what was happening – in the United States,” he wrote.
Moore said he and other journalists is accompanied of the crossing by the border patrol agents recently.
“There is no modern precedent for a complete physical ban on media access to CBP border operations,” he wrote. ‘For those who can say, make them a little slack – they are dealing with a situation, I would say that the exact role of the media is the American response to the current immigrant push.
“The photography of border patrol agents and immigrant encounters can and has been done with respect without interfering in the operations,” he continues.
Moore also rejects the idea that such restrictions can be justified under coronavirus regulations.
“And restrictions on pandemics are not a valid excuse to block access to physical media, especially not outside of operations,” he wrote. ‘There are easy alternative options to ride together.
“Showing the difficult and important work of @cbp agents in the field, while also being photographed with dignity by immigrants, does not exclude mutual statements,” he added. “Transparency is important, even in a politicized environment.”
Biden administration officials have repeatedly promised the media access to conditions at the border – including facilities where detained children are being held – but have not yet determined when the reviews may begin.
On Sunday morning, Fox News host Chris Wallace spoke with country security secretary Alejandro Mayorkas about the issue and asked why reporters could not accompany Mayorkas on his own border visit last week.
Mayorkas fell back on the pandemic to explain the lack of access, promising to provide footage of the conditions.
The Post saw the restrictions firsthand during a recent trip to the border.
During a ride with the Sheriff’s Office in Texas in Hidalgo County, a Post reporter saw agents from the border patrol investigate a house suspected of being used as a storage place for stolen cars and smugglers.
The agents explicitly told The Post not to photograph them.
Later, delegates from the Hidalgo County Constable’s Office also warned against taking photos or videos of border patrol personnel.
“It’s just orders they get too, because I think they do not want to admit that it is a crisis,” a deputy speculated, noting that the camera-shy directive was passed on to the border patrol last month, then photography. really ”has been seen as a problem in the past.
“They do not want anything to leak,” the deputy continued. “But that’s all.”