Why RCFP is standing up for non-citizen journalists in a high-profile immigration case

Last month, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press filed a friend-of-the-court brief in a high-profile matter that could have widespread consequences for non-citizen journalists in the U.S.

In the case of Tufts University Ph.D. student Rümeysa Öztürk, who was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the government has claimed the unfettered power to detain non-citizens for months or years, even when the detention is alleged to be unconstitutional. 

As we explain in our brief, crediting the government’s theory in the case would chill an enormous amount of newsgathering and reporting in the public interest.

Öztürk’s case arose after federal immigration authorities took her into custody in March. To date, the government has not provided a basis for her detention other than an op-ed she co-bylined for her student newspaper about Israel’s actions in Palestine.

Öztürk filed a habeas corpus petition in a federal district court challenging the constitutionality of her detention. As we previously wrote in this newsletter, the availability of habeas relief is an essential protection for press freedom. But the government has argued that federal courts don’t have the authority to consider a habeas claim until after the petitioner’s removal proceedings run an often lengthy course in immigration court.

Were the court to side with the government here, it would grant the executive branch sweeping discretion to detain non-citizen journalists in retaliation for their reporting, with no immediate recourse for a person in custody. 

In our friend-of-the-court brief, we argue that this would silence a detained journalist’s First Amendment-protected reporting. Additionally, the threat of indefinite detention may discourage many other non-citizen journalists from reporting on matters of public interest. This prospect is especially concerning because it could deprive the public of reporting on topics that foreign-born, non-citizen journalists are uniquely equipped to cover thanks to their specialized linguistic and cultural knowledge, such as immigration enforcement. 

There are indications that this is already happening, as we note in our brief. Estefania Bermudez, a bilingual Detroit-based journalist who is a DACA recipient, told American Community Media that she’s often asked to cover immigration enforcement because of her expertise in the American immigration system, but she’s become more likely to turn down these assignments out of fear that her reporting could make her a target of the government. 

This is just one example of how the government’s theory, if credited, could “create a potent means of suppressing public interest newsgathering and reporting that officials perceive as critical or unfavorable,” as we write in the brief. We hope the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit is persuaded to reject the government’s argument and hold that Öztürk has the right to immediately challenge the constitutionality of her detention.

Read the Reporters Committee’s friend-of-the-court brief in Öztürk v. Hyde: