By Ayesha K. Mustafaa,
Contributing Writer,
“You Have the Right”: Utilizing and Preserving the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution Protections for Citizens and Journalists
The American Community Media’s (ACoM) weekly briefing for April 24, 2026, focused on “Tracking ICE–Police Collaboration: Tools for Journalists, Lawsuits and What Authorities Don’t Want You to See.” Moderator was Acom’s representative Pilar Marreror.
It was a “teach in” for journalists, which can be a valuable briefing before going out into the field to cover these highly charged events with interaction with ICE agents and local law enforcements.
AcoM opened this session focusing on “local police departments and sheriff’s offices playing a growing role in immigration enforcement,.” However, much of this activity remains difficult to track.
It is found that “records are often incomplete, delayed, or withheld, leaving journalists and communities without a clear picture of how Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operates at the local level.”
The participating panelists discussed efforts to obtain records on ICE–police collaboration, including recent litigation in California, the example on how to share tools and strategies for accessing public data nationwide; how to connect with the researchers and organizations doing this work.
AcoM noted that as enforcement expands and becomes more decentralized, accountability depends on local reporting. “Knowing how to access records, identify collaboration between agencies, interpret incomplete data, and tap into existing expertise is essential to informing the public and documenting the impact on communities.”
The presenters were: David Loy, Legal Director, First Amendment Coalition; Thadeus Greenson, Press Education Specialist, FAC; Elizabeth Clemons, Director of Training and Enablement, Muck Rock; and Austin Kocher, Assistant Research Professor, Syracuse University; Research Fellow, American University.
“Transparency is the oxygen of accountability,” noted David Loy, Legal Director, First Amendment Coalition (FAC). Loy set the bar of importance as he expressed that his organization does not lean toward establishing “blame” on any given case but to assure that there is transparency for others to be able to make informed decisions.”
FAC’s working mantra: “Free speech, a free press, and the public’s right to know are essential to engaged and informed communities” – an affirmation of the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment that among seven other freedoms secures the right to have a “free press” uninhibited by government.
The FOIA federal law is also called the Sunshine Law as noted on the FAC website firstamendmentcoalition.org. This was a working session for media operatives, where Thadeus Greenson, also from FAC Press as its Education Specialist, gave more insights on the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). He walked through how to access records using this federal law that mandates that public information be accessible – especially to journalists.
Elizabeth Clemons, Director of Training and Enablement for the media organization MuckRock, gave in-depth information on how to get the best results when filing a FOIA request. Some red flags, for example, is NOT TO ASK for “ANY AND ALL” – that makes the request so expansive that it will be resigned to the desk unattended. She noted there are about nine exemptions to releasing information.
This information is important to track ICE and police collaborations when subsequent lawsuits may be warranted. Some commonly sought out information may already be available through MuckRock posted searches at MuckRock.com – their objective again “to keep the government honest.”
Thadeus Greenson closed out the session noting particular forms to request like EOIR-59 which can be used to acquire “a detainee’s immigration court file, which may have materials critical in whether the laws were properly followed and due process provided. This pertinent form is accessible at: https://www.justice.gov/eoir/page/file/1380121/dl?inline
ICE Detention Reports can be accessed at Detentionreports.com and Enforcementdashboard.com
The closing focus remained on the need for transparency in government and the value in documenting the many cases of detainees by ICE, some documentation from neighbors and “Rapid Response” groups – a lead to what type of requests to place with FOIA.
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