Covering immigration? RCFP’s new legal guide can help.
The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press today published a new guide to help journalists understand legal issues they may encounter while reporting on immigration enforcement and deportation.
The Immigration Reporting Legal Guide, which is available in English and Spanish, is the latest addition to the Reporters Committee’s extensive collection of free legal resources. It comes as journalists across the country are covering President Donald Trump’s sweeping immigration crackdown and its impact on their communities.
The guide is designed to help journalists navigate coverage of the complex web of federal and state entities that make up the American immigration system. In three parts, the guide includes information to help journalists obtain immigration-related public records, access immigration proceedings, and understand their rights to observe and record immigration enforcement officers on the ground.
The guide expands on the Reporters Committee’s two-page tipsheet on accessing immigration and deportation records. It explains the relevant immigration-related data, documents, and other public records that reporters can request from various federal agencies under the Freedom of Information Act.
The guide also outlines legal obstacles journalists might face when they set out to access immigration proceedings or cover immigration enforcement officers carrying out their duties in public places.
Journalists with additional legal or newsgathering questions should contact the Reporters Committee’s free Legal Hotline, which includes a 24/7 emergency line.
Read the full guide in English.
Read the full guide 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.