As members of Congress and reporters ask to visit federal facilities housing children who have been apprehended by the U.S. in recent months, federal officials are slapping limits on members of the news media who want a glimpse inside.
For example, an email sent to news organizations by Jesus Garcia, a public affairs officer for the Administration for Children and Families, a division of the Department of Health and Human Services, sets out a number of restrictions on reporters if they want to visit "Unaccompanied Alien Children" being held at Fort Sill in Oklahoma.
"The purpose of this 40-minute tour is to show members of the press the interior of the shelter and explain the care we provide while these children remain in our custody," Garcia's email told reporters.
"The tour guide will detail what goes on from room to room and the services youth are provided on a daily basis," Garcia added in an email that was forwarded to reporters by Rep. Jim Bridenstine (R-OK), who had been barred from visiting the Fort Sill alien children shelter last week.
But the HHS email to reporters made clear that journalists won't exactly be allowed to do anything related to their jobs while on the tour of the facility at Fort Sill, other than jot some things down in a notebook.
"In order to protect the safety and privacy of the children," the email set out 'rules for participation' for the press corps, which included:
- No recording devices allowed for reporters
- No questions from reporters permitted during the tour
- No interactions with staff or children
- No on-site interviews with HHS staff before or after the tour
- No photos of the facility - photographs will be provided by HHS
Along with those restrictions, any questions that reporters have for officials at the Department of Health and Human Services must be submitted "via email or phone" after the tour to a to spokesman in Washington, D.C.
I asked for an explanation of the restrictions on reporters, but did not receive a reply from HHS officials.
Rep. Bridenstine, meanwhile, urged news organizations to reject the limits.
"The idea of no recording devices, no questions, and no interactions is not acceptable. This violates the 1st Amendment. This is not transparent," said Bridenstine in a statement, as he accused the feds of "trying to muzzle the media."
You can read the entire email from HHS about restrictions on reporter visits to the Fort Sill facility on Bridenstine's website.
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