Federal judge halts DHS surveillance of journalists after SoCal reporter’s case

Ryanne Mena reported on migrant caravans in Tijuana, Mexico, as a community college student in 2018. (Photo credit: Rob Wilson, courtesy of Ryanne Mena)

Indeed, under the guise of protecting the public, federal agents have endangered large numbers of peaceful protestors, legal observers and journalists, as well as the public that relies on them to hold their government accountable. The First Amendment demands better.”

Federal Judge Hernán Vera, in a preliminary injunction issued in September

Author’s note and disclosure: The author is a member of NewsGuild-CWA under his newsroom role at the New York Amsterdam News. A hearing for a stay requested by DHS occured after this story was filed. Facts may change by the time of publication.

SoCal News Group Reporter Ryanne Mena built her beat from the ground up. Her newsroom, which publishes the Los Angeles Daily News and Orange County Register, greenlit her ambitions to expand her crime and public safety coverage to include immigration issues unofficially this past January. “L.A. is proudly a city of immigrants,” she said. “And I’m a granddaughter of Mexican immigrants, so this issue of immigration is really important and personal to me.”

When Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agents allegedly fired a pepper ball at her left thigh when mass demonstrations broke out in downtown Los Angeles against immigration raids on June 6, Mena remained undeterred from her reporting by the deep bruise. She went right back out the next day to document another protest in Paramount, California, where federal officers allegedly shot her in the head with a less-than-lethal round, before flooding her lungs with tear gas.

In September, a federal judge temporarily blocked DHS agents, including immigration enforcement officers, from violently responding to complying journalists, peaceful protesters and legal observers, including using tear gas and non-lethal projectiles like pepper balls and rubber bullets. The preliminary injunction stems from a lawsuit brought by the LA Press Club, the NewsGuild union and individual plaintiffs like Mena alleging excessive force.

“Indeed, under the guise of protecting the public, federal agents have endangered large numbers of peaceful protestors, legal observers and journalists, as well as the public that relies on them to hold their government accountable,” wrote Judge Hernán Vera. “The First Amendment demands better.”

Ryanne Mena is shown here after DHS agents allegedly shot her with a less-than-lethal round and hit her with tear gas in June. (Photo credit: Sean Beckner-Carmitchel, courtesy of Ryanne Mena)

For the LA Press Club, the DHS lawsuit is one of three cases against law enforcement; the other two are against local police agencies. LA Press Club board member Adam Rose chairs press rights concerns at the organization, where he documents such incidents. As a result, he followed the large June protests and connected with Mena. “I treat it as any reporter would,” said Rose. “I go out, identify the incident and ask for evidence. I pull evidence from social media, and I interview people about their experience.”

To be clear, the court order will only apply regionally to eight California counties, and the DHS is contesting the injunction. But ACLU of SoCal senior staff attorney Meredith Gallen, who represents the plaintiffs, said the case can serve as a potential primer for other federal challenges. For example, NewsGuild-CWA recently filed a similar lawsuit in Chicago.

NewsGuild-CWA, the country’s biggest union representing journalists, got involved in the case as a plaintiff to protect reporters, including members like Mena. “Our huge concern is that journalists should have a right to do their jobs,” said President Jon Schleuss. “And police do not have a right to interfere with reporters or photographers who are covering protests.”

He hopes newsrooms will prepare reporters covering such protests with protective equipment, including helmets, eye wash and vests. Schleuss also maintains that Guild members do not need to take on unsafe assignments.

Mena remains keen on getting back out and reporting. The injuries cost her time in the field, and she’s still recovering from her bruise roughly four months later. She also said she’s more sensitive to loud, sudden noises. But those incidents just reinforced her desire to cover immigration and beyond.

“The fire under me is just bigger because of all this, not just for immigration reporting, but for all the reporting I do,” said Mena. “I just kind of use this experience as a way to fuel me rather than make me smaller.”

Tandy Lau is an award-winning journalist currently based in Jersey City. He currently works as a staff reporter covering public safety for the New York Amsterdam News in Harlem. He can be contacted at tandylau1995@gmail.com