Biden reportedly restricts giving border info to media

By Beyza Binnur Donmez

ANKARA (AA) - The administration of US President Joe Biden is reportedly restricting information Border Patrol agents can share with the media amid the ongoing crisis on the southern border.

As massive numbers of migrants surge into the country in hopes that the Biden administration would treat them better, NBC News reported Wednesday that Border Patrol officials "have been told to deny all media requests for ‘ride-alongs’ with agents along the southern border.

Local press officers are instructed to send all information queries, even from local media, to the press office in Washington for approval; and those responsible for cultivating data about the number of migrants in custody have been reminded not to share the information with anyone to prevent leaks, the officials said."

Citing officials who spoke anonymously, NBC said the new restrictions have been passed down verbally, not through an official memo, what the border patrol agents reportedly call an unofficial ''gag order''.

They noted that some restrictions are imposed due to the coronavirus but under the former President Donald Trump administration some border "ride-alongs" for journalists during the pandemic were allowed.

However, there has been "not a single one since January 20," the day Biden took office, they said.

Trump pursued a hardline approach to immigration, legal and illegal, and migrants are surging into the US in anticipation of more lenient treatment from Biden.