Democracy Now! reports the Obama administration is continuing the Bush regime’s policy of directing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to search and copy computers, smartphones, cameras, and hard drives of “listed” Americans returning to the United States. ACLU (NCAC member!) staff attorney Catherine Crump says “many journalists and lawyers who often work abroad have also experienced similar interrogations.” The ACLU asserts these searches and seizures of data violate the 1st and 4th Amendment and eliminate a journalist’s ability to maintain the confidentiality of sources, creating a chilling on effect on overseas reporting.
