A photojournalist with a major international image subscription service said late last week that every president has allowed him to photograph U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s border operations except for Democrat President Joe Biden.
The claims from Getty Images Special Correspondent John Moore come as a bipartisan group of senators is now demanding that Biden allow the media to see the crisis that has unfolded on Biden’s watch.
“I respectfully ask US Customs and Border Protection to stop blocking media access to their border operations. I have photographed CBP under Bush, Obama and Trump but now – zero access is granted to media. These long lens images taken from the Mexican side,” Moore wrote. “There’s no modern precedent for a full physical ban on media access to CBP border operations. To those who might say, cut them some slack – they are dealing with a situation, I’d say that showing the US response to the current immigrant surge is exactly the media’s role.”
CBP was formed in 2003 under former President George W. Bush.
There’s no modern precedent for a full physical ban on media access to CBP border operations. To those who might say, cut them some slack – they are dealing with a situation, I’d say that showing the US response to the current immigrant surge is exactly the media’s role.
— John Moore (@jbmoorephoto) March 19, 2021
“Photographing Border Patrol agents and immigrant encounters can and has been done respectfully without interfering with operations. Regardless, @cbp public affairs exists to work with media,” he continued. “And Pandemic restrictions are not a valid excuse to block physical media access, especially to operations that are outside. There are easy alternative options to media ride-alongs.”
“Showing the difficult and important work of @cbp agents in the field, while also photographing immigrants in a dignified way are not mutually exclusive endeavors. Transparency is key, even in a politicized environment,” Moore continued. “The photographs in this tweet string were taken with a telephoto lens from across the border in Mexico. Until now, US photojournalists haven’t needed to stand in another country to photograph what’s happening – in the United States.”
“The vast majority of river crossings by asylum seekers happen on federal land in south Texas’ Rio Grande Valley. The federal govt. controls access to those areas,” he concluded. “The Border Patrol has been removing journalists who enter, including recently myself, CBS, others.”
Multiple reporters grilled White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki last week over the lack of media access that the Biden administration is giving to journalists. One reporter reminded Psaki that the Biden administration “all came in and promised to be the most truthful and transparent administration.”
Biden DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said during an interview last week that if “loving parents” send their child alone to the U.S.-Mexico border, the Biden administration will not only not expel the child, but will also “care for” the child.
Even Mexico’s left-wing government has reportedly been very concerned about what the Biden administration is doing, believing that Biden is “stoking illegal immigration and creating business for organized crime.” Mexico is now in the process of launching a crackdown on its own southern border in an attempt to stop illegal immigration to the U.S.