WASHINGTON – The Biden government is restricting the information that Border Patrol agents and heads of sector can share with the media as a wave of migrants tests the agency’s capacity on the southern border, according to two current and two former employees of the Customs and Border Protection.
The authorities say the restrictions are seen as an unofficial “order of silence” and are often mentioned in this way among colleagues. The authorities requested anonymity because they are not authorized to speak to the media about the matter.
Border Patrol officers have been instructed to deny all media requests for “hitchhikers” with agents along the southern border; local press officers are instructed to send all information inquiries, even from the local media, to the press office in Washington for approval; and those responsible for cultivating data on the number of migrants in custody were reminded not to share the information with anyone to prevent leaks, officials said.
Multiple news organizations, including NBC News, have requested access to or photos of overcrowded border processing facilities that keep migrant children unaccompanied; they were denied.
The new restrictions were transmitted verbally, not through an official memorandum, officials said. The unofficial policy has prompted some border agents to release videos showing mass arrests and waves of migrants without Washington’s permission, two officials said.
Customs and Border Protection and the Department of Homeland Security have not offered any media tours of the newly opened processing facility in Donna, Texas, which is packed with unaccompanied migrant children, said a DHS official.
Some of the restrictions, especially for personal tours, are due to Covid-19 precautions, said one of the current employees. But, as the current official said, although the Trump administration allowed some border trips for journalists during the pandemic, there have been “none since January 20”, the day President Joe Biden was installed.
A DHS spokesman said the agency is following the standards set in 2014.
“Throughout the federal government, certain officials are designated spokespersons for their respective agencies and public statements are scrutinized for accuracy. This standard and process has been followed at DHS since the beginning of the Department and in bipartisan administrations. Customs and Border Protection continue to publicly provide the same monthly data on the same schedule as 2014, “said the spokesman.
The Trump administration’s media strategy for DHS generally focused on highlighting the dangers posed by migrants, sometimes increasing the risk. Public relations officials politically appointed under President Donald Trump have pressured local border sectors to publicize the arrests and to bring national media organizations to the border to see the agents in action.
“Part of maintaining public confidence is communicating regularly and frequently,” said a former employee.
A second current official, who has served in the past three administrations, said that the current climate for Customs and Border Protection personnel is more like 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,” said the second current official.
With the change in tone of the Biden government, which has committed itself to a more humane system on the southern border, some border agents have released videos without permission.
One of these videos was posted online over the weekend by Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas. The video shows dozens of migrants, including small children, being transported by ferry across Rio Grande. A spokeswoman for Cuellar said the video was shot in March, but that “Congressman Cuellar cannot say who gave him the video”. Two officials, however, said the video came from a border agent.
Cuellar had previously criticized Biden for not visiting the border during the increase.
Another important fact is the number of unaccompanied children in custody by the Border Patrol. Although the number has historically been protected, as it is sensitive to law enforcement, a Congressional aide said the data has been more difficult to accumulate in the middle of a leak.
Speaking to reporters at the White House on March 1, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas pledged to be transparent with the media, citing “another principle that I intend to adhere to during my tenure, which is openness and transparency, and that includes the Fourth Power. “
Mayorkas was responding to a reporter who said his access to the Border Patrol facilities was denied and that the agency cited Covid-19 restrictions. Mayorkas said he would investigate to find out why access was denied.
In a statement released on Tuesday, Mayorkas said that DHS is “on track to find more individuals on the southwestern border than in the past 20 years”.
The Biden government is 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, on the other hand it does not want to encourage more undocumented migrants to cross the border.
Speaking at the White House last week, Ambassador Roberta Jacobson, Biden’s coordinator for the southern border, told reporters, “Sometimes it is difficult to convey hope for the future and the danger that exists now. And that is what we are trying to do. And I – I will certainly agree that we are trying to walk and chew gum at the same time. “
Geoff Bennett and Jacob Soboroff contributed.