1 / 6FILE - This Nov. 25, 2018 file photo shows migrants near the Chaparral border crossing watch clashes with U.S. border agents, seen from Tijuana, Mexico. A San Diego TV station says the U.S. government ran an operation to screen journalists, activists and others while investigating last year's migrant caravan from Mexico. KNSD-TV says documents leaked by a Homeland Security source show a January database listing at least 10 journalists, seven of them U.S.
The government compiled the database at a time when the caravan was attracting considerable attention in the White House around the midterm elections, with President Trump repeatedly tweeting about the group. The statement didn't address specifics of why journalists would be on the list to have their passports flagged.
The database was denounced by a variety of groups, including media organizations, the Mexican government, the American Civil Liberties Union, Amnesty International and the Southern Poverty Law Center.