RCFP urges federal courts to lift restrictions on accessing immigration records

The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press is urging federal district courts to limit restrictions on remote public access to records filed in immigration cases so that members of the press and public can more easily monitor the government’s enforcement actions.

In letters sent to the chief judges of five federal district courts last week, the Reporters Committee expressed concerns about Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 5.2(c), a little-known rule that blocks public access to immigration case filings via PACER, the electronic system for federal court records, forcing journalists to visit the courthouse to view them in person.

“This restriction prevents timely public access to fast-moving legal developments and impedes the ability of the press to report on critical, newsworthy matters,” the Reporters Committee argues in the letters, which were sent to federal courts in New York, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. “Timely public access to judicial records is not just good public policy — it is a matter of constitutional importance.”

The letters note that the Reporters Committee regularly hears from journalists who struggle to cover developments in immigration cases because of the rule’s restrictions. Additionally, the letters argue that the rule’s restriction on access is both too broad and too narrow to reasonably serve its purported goal of protecting sensitive information.

Federal courts have the authority to lift Rule 5.2(c) access restrictions. In June, for example, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit removed restrictions in the case of Badar Khan Suri, a Georgetown University scholar who is challenging whether his detention was legal. The move came in response to a motion Reporters Committee attorneys filed on behalf of The Intercept.

To help address the problem, the Reporters Committee’s letters urge the courts to adopt a standing order lifting the remote access restrictions imposed by Rule 5.2(c) after 10 days, absent objection by a party.

“This solution would promote more accurate and contemporaneous reporting on immigration proceedings in federal court, as well as reaffirm the judiciary’s commitment to transparency without adversely affecting litigants’ privacy interests,” the Reporters Committee argues.

Read one of the letters below. And to learn more about how to navigate Rule 5.2(c) and other legal obstacles to reporting on immigration enforcement and deportations, check out the Reporters Committee’s Immigration Reporting Legal Guide.