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New RCFP tipsheet helps journalists access immigration, deportation records

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  1. Newsgathering
RCFP soon plans to publish a more extensive legal guide focused on helping journalists cover immigration.
A Border Patrol agent makes his way towards a group of migrants waiting to apply for asylum between two border walls separating Mexico and the United States, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press has published a new tipsheet to help journalists access public records while reporting on immigration and deportation. 

The tipsheet — available in English and Spanish — comes as President Donald Trump has signed a flurry of immigration-related executive orders, including measures declaring a “national emergency” to potentially deploy the military to the border, attempting to end birthright citizenship, and suspending a refugee program

The Reporters Committee’s two-page tipsheet helps journalists navigate the complex web of federal, state, and private entities that make up the American immigration system. It is intended to simplify the newsgathering process and answer questions journalists are likely to have when they set out to obtain data, documents, and other records from agencies like U.S. Customs and Border Protection and private detention facilities that have contracted with federal agencies. 

The Reporters Committee soon plans to publish a more extensive legal guide focused on helping journalists and newsrooms cover immigration and deportation.

Journalists who have legal or newsgathering questions can contact the Reporters Committee’s free Legal Hotline, which includes a 24/7 emergency line.

View the tipsheet in English.

View the tipsheet in Spanish.


The Reporters Committee regularly files friend-of-the-court briefs and its attorneys represent journalists and news organizations pro bono in court cases that involve First Amendment freedoms, the newsgathering rights of journalists and access to public information. Stay up-to-date on our work by signing up for our newsletters and following us on Bluesky, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, and X.

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