Migrant caravan journalists targeted by feds

The government compiled dossiers on journalists and a lawyer who were involved in covering or providing legal assistance to last year’s migrant caravans, according to stunning documents obtained by a San Diego television station.

Some of those on the list had previously said they felt targeted by authorities, and the documents obtained by NBC San Diego appear to bear that out.

Some of the journalists involved told the station they were forced into lengthy interrogations when they tried to cross between the U.S. and Mexico, with both countries involved in intrusive screenings.

One, Kitra Cahana, a freelance photographer, had told the Committee to Protect Journalists last month that when she tried to enter Mexico in January she was detained for 13 hours then denied entry by Mexican authorities. She was later denied entry by foot, too.

Customs and Border Protection officials told NBC San Diego the names were people present during the violence that broke out at the border between Tijuana and San Diego in November.

Civil liberties advocates said the list was an outrage.

“The government cannot use the pretext of the border to target activists critical of its policies, lawyers providing legal representation, or journalists simply doing their jobs,” said Esha Bhandari, a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union.

The government has heightened powers at the border, including the ability to search belongings and to scour the contents of phones and computers, without a warrant.

NBC San Diego said it obtained the documents from a Homeland Security source who felt the department had gone too far in compiling the list.

Of the 58 names the station saw, 10 were journalists, one was a lawyer and 47 were labeled as organizers or associates, or their roles were “unknown.”

The list also detailed who had been interviewed by authorities — presumably during a border encounter — and who was still awaiting an interview. Some Mexicans were listed as having their U.S. visas revoked, while some Central American activists on the list were labeled as having been arrested or deported by Mexico.