IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS EL PASO DIVISION Emilio GUTIÉRREZ-SOTO, Petitioner Case No. EP-18-CV- v. Jefferson SESSIONS III, in his official capacity as the Attorney General of the United States; Kirstjen NIELSEN in her official capacity as Secretary of Homeland Security; Thomas HOMAN in his official capacity as Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement; William JOYCE in his capacity as El Paso Field Office Director for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement; and the U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY, Respondents Oscar GUTIÉRREZ-SOTO, Petitioner v. Jefferson SESSIONS III, in his official capacity as the Attorney General of the United States; Kirstjen NIELSEN in her official capacity as Secretary of Homeland Security; Thomas HOMAN in his official capacity as Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement; William JOYCE in his capacity as El Paso Field Office Director for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement; and the U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY, Respondents Case No. EP-18-CV- Certification of William C. McCarren In Support of Emilio and Oscar GutiérrezSoto’s Petitions for Writs of Habeas Corpus Under 28 U.S.C. § 1746, I William C. McCarren, make the following unsworn declaration, under penalty of perjury, in the above styled and numbered cause, and I further state that my statements are based upon my personal knowledge as follows: 1. I am the Executive Director of the National Press Club (“NPC”). The NPC, founded in 1908, is “The World’s Leading Professional Organization for Journalists.” We have 3,100 members worldwide representing nearly every major news organization. We occupy 54,000 square feet of office space two blocks from the White House in the historic National Press Building. We advocate for press freedom around the globe and have been successful at leading campaigns to protect journalists being arbitrarily detained in countries such as Iran, Egypt, Turkey, Azerbaijan and Nigeria. 2. On October 4, 2017 the National Press Club awarded Emilio Gutiérrez-Soto the John Aubuchon Award for Press Freedom on behalf of Mexican journalists. By giving Emilio Gutiérrez-Soto this award, the NPC sought to honor the great personal danger that he endured exposing corruption in Mexico, and hoped to put a spotlight on the dangerous working conditions for journalists in Mexico, as well as the courageous reporting by Mexican journalists in the face of threats and intimidation by cartels and the military. 3. Our Press Freedom Committee and Press Freedom Awards are widely respected and recognized in the profession as prestigious. 4. Emilio Gutiérrez-Soto is an exemplary recipient of the John Aubuchon Award. He joins an illustrious group of past recipients who similarly faced great personal danger and hardship for their journalistic work. Past winners of this prestigious 2 honor include journalists who have braved great dangers in order to inform the public: Jason Rezaian of the Washington Post, Lara Logan of CBS News; Khadija Ismayilova of Radio Free Europe, and Austin Tice who is currently missing in Syria 5. During his acceptance speech, Emilio was highly critical of current U.S. immigration policies, particularly those related to political asylum. 6. About two months later, on December 7, 2017, during a scheduled check-in with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”), Emilio and his son Oscar were taken into custody by government officials who attempted to deport them to Mexico. When I learned that Emilio had been detained, I immediately contacted key journalists in Washington and Texas to inform them of the situation and to brief them that we would soon be issuing statements and communicating details of news conferences. 7. Because the NPC believed that Emilio would be in danger if they were deported to Mexico, I also began an online petition at Change.org to bring attention to Emilio’s sudden detention and to demand his release. To date, the petition has nearly 100,000 signatures. 8. Emilio and Oscar were initially detained in the Sierra Blanca Detention Facility which is about 90 miles away from his attorney in El Paso and his community in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Emilio stated through a telephonic interview that he and Oscar felt isolated, that the food was poor, and that they had slept on a concrete floor. NPC believed that this location would have a negative impact on Emilio’s ability to effectively develop and present his asylum case. 9. On December 8 both the Washington Post and the Texas Tribune published stories about Emilio’s detention. On December 8 the NPC announced a news conference 3 scheduled for Monday, December 11. We were moving at great speed because we believed Emilio’s life was at risk if he were returned to Mexico. 10. There was strong press attention to our December 11 news conference. The room was full and there were several camera crews. The next day, the Associated Press reported on Emilio’s detention. The story was picked up and used by several newspapers. Also, the Washington Post wrote an editorial calling for asylum for Emilio. There continued to be requests for interviews and updates. We posted the full video of the news conference on our website and on our YouTube channel. 11. Shortly after the news conference, Emilio and Oscar were transferred from the remote Sierra Blanca detention Center to the El Paso Detention Center, which is closer to their attorney and community. 12. On December 22, 2017, I travelled to El Paso to meet with Emilio and Oscar. I was shocked to see Emilio in jail, as the last time I had seen him was at a black-tie gala. He seemed depressed and tears were in his eyes. He complained of a tingling in his right arm, which he thought was the result of high blood pressure. He looked tired and said he was having trouble sleeping. 13. During my December trip to El Paso, I also planned to meet with the El Paso media and with key community officials including Congressman Beto O’Rourke, Bishop Mark Seitz and with the ICE officials who were detaining Emilio. 14. I organized a news conference on December 22, 2017 at a community center in El Paso to brief the El Paso media on my meeting with Emilio and on the petition and on our commitment to the case. There were eight TV cameras including the network affiliates in El Paso and some of the Spanish-language networks like Univision. The El Paso Times sent a photographer and reporter. Several other sites were also represented. After the news conference, several media outlets asked for unique interviews. We were invited by one station to be live on set for their 5 p.m. 4 newscast so we traveled to that station. Video from the news conference appeared on the front page of the El Paso Times and on all the local TV stations. 15. The Texas Tribune also wrote a story, in which Julian Aguilar quoted me saying that an ICE attorney, in a meeting with me, Emilio’s attorney Eduardo Beckett and Congressman O’Rourke, told me to “tone it down.” In the context of the conversation, I fully believe that this comment meant that I should stop attracting media attention to Emilio and Oscar’s detention. I responded immediately that I would not “tone it down,” and that I was there to make sure everyone in the media and all their audiences knew that Emilio was being held in detention even though he was not a criminal and that he should be released. 16. I believe that on several occasions ICE has shown its opposition to press inquiries about Emilio and Oscar’s detention, and that ICE has taken steps to keep Emilio from reporting on his detention. For example, despite following protocol, ICE told me I could not visit Emilio before a scheduled press conference. On December 19, 2017, I made a written request to visit Emilio via an email to ICE Public Affairs Officer and Spokeswoman Leticia Zamarripa (attaching a privacy waiver form signed by Emilio in which he stated to ICE that he wanted me to visit him at the detention center in El Paso). The following day, I was told by ICE Public Affairs Officer Zamarripa that I needed to make the request in writing to Director William Joyce. I was also told that my request had to be received within 48 hours of the close of business, which would have fallen on December 22, 2017. I complied by faxing a letter the same day (December 20, 2017). It was my understanding this was an extra step to normal protocol since only a signed privacy waiver form by Emilio should suffice for a visit by a member of the press. 5 17. I confirmed that my letter arrived on time at ICE El Paso as requested. I boarded a plane. When I arrived in El Paso I had a message from Mr. Joyce’s assistant saying he had not had a chance to examine my request and therefore I could not see Emilio the next morning, as requested. I was told that I would have to wait until after 1 p.m. That was odd, as our news conference was scheduled for 1 p.m. I believe that ICE tried to keep me and other reporters away from Emilio before the press conference so that we could not expose that they were being detained unlawfully, as well as the harsh conditions under which they were being detained. As I was given the run-around by ICE, I firmly believe that if Congressman O’Rourke had not been with me, ICE would not have permitted me to visit Emilio before the news conference. I swear that the foregoing is true. Dated: March 5, 2018 Washington, D.C. ____________________________________ William C. McCarren 6