By Ameara Ditsche
Staff Writer
It was recently revealed that the government has been keeping a list of different activists and journalists, who have ties to immigration issues. Some of these journalists even have flags on their passport. This violates many human and constitutional rights. Such as, but not limited to, freedom of speech and freedom of press. This is also a failed solution at the immigration debacle in the United States.
Freedom of speech is clearly enumerated to us in the First Amendment. By making activists and influencers feel unsafe, you are indirectly taking away their freedom of speech. There may not be laws against it explicitly, but by putting these people on a list they don’t know about, they are being discouraged from speaking up for what they believe in.
Freedom of press is also included in the First Amendment. The infringement upon this right however, was much more direct. According to NBC Investigations, two different photo journalists have claimed they were either detained at the border or turned away from a scene they were photographing. The government is not only hurting these journalists by not letting them do their jobs, but is depriving consumers from getting raw information.
By disallowing the media from reporting on what you’re doing, you are basically admitting that what you’re doing is wrong. The current administration is becoming strict on immigration policies but due to Trump’s staunch racism, it seems as if the government backs as it finds this ill-treatment okay. Not allowing it to be shown to the public is a perfect example of a corrupt government.
Supporting who they feel will advance their agenda regardless of who it affects, knowing it will certainly have a negative impact on many.
The people who are victimized by this list are people who don’t have legislative power, they are journalists, activists, influencers and lawyers, all roles that act for the people. The government, by creating this list, isn’t supporting any clear immigration reform plans, only stripping people of knowledge. This shows a blatant disregard for citizens.
As disappointing as this is, it is not surprising. We all know someone who practically wears a tinfoil hat to protect themselves from the government. So the biggest issue is that none of the people on the list were informed. There is no way the government isn’t aware that we’re skeptical of them, so why didn’t they just alert those affected? Again, it is blatant disregard for citizens and their wants. The government is just trying to seem as likeable as possible to get votes, so they cover up the shady stuff. They won’t admit they’re wrong even when it becomes obvious that they know it.
Moving forward, the best bet for the organizers of the list would be to release a statement explaining what the planned to do with the information, and apologizing. What will probably happen though, is they will seek out whoever leaked the documents and attempt to pin the blame on them.
Journalism is already a dangerous career choice, whether you choose war correspondence or sports reporting, chances are someone is angry with you. The government by keeping tabs and making these writers seem dangerous only puts them themselves in even more danger.
This fear of the media of course stems from the fixation on “fake news.” But, there is a difference between fake news, and news that the government wants you to think is fake. They are trying to control how we think by filtering the information we see.
I encourage you to try and beat this by taking news at face value and reading several different sources. Go beyond what is monitored and do research, figure out how you think and feel. Not just how certain people tell you to.
