Joint Congressional Letter on Journalists Endangered by Shutdown of U.S. Agency for Global Media

USAGM 2025

April 1, 2025

Below is a joint letter signed by the Uyghur Human Rights Project calling on Congress to take urgent action to protect journalists who have worked for U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM)-funded outlets and now face serious risks, including harassment, imprisonment, and deportation.

Dear Chairman Risch, Mast, Grassley and Jordan and Ranking Members Shaheen, Meeks, Durbin and Raskin:

We, the undersigned, are writing to bring to your urgent attention the perilous plight of journalists who have worked for the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM)-funded entities, such as Voice of America (VOA), Radio Free Asia (RFA), and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL). These journalists, both in the United States and abroad, are at grave risk of harassment, threats, and even imprisonment due to their association with these independent media outlets, and we are writing for your assistance to ensure they are protected. 

The stakes could not be higher. Many of the journalists who have worked for these US-government-funded news organizations reported on politically sensitive issues in their home countries from the United States because it was unsafe for them to do so back home; with the defunding of USAGM, they now face an uncertain future, grappling with the loss of work status as well as prolonged delays in immigration processes. Others remain trapped in countries where their association with USAGM-funded entities makes them targets of state repression. Recent reporting and advocacy, including the joint letter by the 28 free expression and press freedom organizations, have highlighted the dire consequences of inaction. 

Because this delay will no doubt impact journalists and contributors in the US, we note with deep concern the announcement from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) pausing the green card application process for certain refugees and asylum seekers.

We urge Congress to act:

  • Urge the State Department to assign the necessary resources to secure the release of the eleven USAGM-funded staff members currently imprisoned, so that they are not abandoned to their fate.
  • Contact United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) urging them to expedite and prioritize immigration applications or protective measures for these journalists who have worked with USAGM-funded outlets, and urge the USCIS and Department of State to push for a suspension of the 30/60 day period after furlough/termination at the end of which journalists’ right to stay in the US ends.
  • Urgently schedule a hearing highlighting the plight of these journalists who have bravely reported for US-government-funded news organizations on issues in their country of origin and now face deportation due to their loss of employment. The hearing should explore avenues to ensure no journalist working for any media outlet associated with USAGM is deported or forced to return to a country where they risk persecution.
  • Address via legislation the precarious legal status of these journalists, which has been jeopardized by the effective shut down of USAGM-funded entities. 
  • Urgently request DHS to resume its processing of green card applications for refugees and asylum seekers.

Journalists sent back to their countries of origin are likely to face extreme consequences, including being imprisoned. Among the countries and territories where journalists are particularly at risk are Belarus, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Vietnam. We are aware that at least fifteen journalists from Radio Free Asia and eight from Voice of America face serious risk of being immediately arrested upon arrival, while another 84 from both media outlets are at risk of other adverse consequences. 

In the past, USAGM-funded journalists and contributors have faced serious danger to keep the public informed. Currently, eleven USAGM-funded staffers are imprisoned across the globe: five in Vietnam, two by Russia, one in Belarus, one in Azerbaijan, and two in Myanmar. Some have received particularly harsh sentences, such as Vietnamese journalist Truong Duy Nhat, sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2020, and Pham Chi Dung sentenced to a 15-year prison sentence in 2021.

Journalists who have bravely reported under the banner of USAGM-funded outlets are essential to reporting on the facts, exposing corruption, and providing information to citizens of countries that are actively suppressing access to independent media. These platforms provide an opportunity to share commentary and perspectives, bringing underreported stories to the world. Ensuring journalists’ safety is a moral imperative but it also sends a strong signal about the United States’ resolve to defend the principles of democracy and free expression.

Thank you for your attention to this critical matter. Please let me know if we can provide further information or assistance in this regard.

Signed by:

  1. PEN America
  2. Reporters Without Borders (RSF)
  3. Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)
  4. Aegis Safety Alliance
  5. Alliance for Citizens Rights 
  6. Article 19
  7. Association of Foreign Press Correspondents
  8. BlueLena
  9. China Against the Death Penalty
  10. Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation
  11. Croatian PEN
  12. English PEN
  13. First Amendment Foundation
  14. Freedom of the Press Foundation
  15. Humanitarian China
  16. Human Rights in China (HRIC)
  17. International Press Institute
  18. International Tibet Network
  19. International Women’s Media Foundation
  20. Irish PEN/PEN na hÉireann
  21. Legal Initiatives for Vietnam (LIV)
  22. No Business with Genocide
  23. PEN Canada
  24. PEN Esperanto
  25. PEN International
  26. PEN International Women Writers Committee
  27. PEN Sweden
  28. Radio Television Digital News Association
  29. Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press
  30. Students for a Free Tibet
  31. Students for Falun Gong
  32. The Press Freedom Center at the National Press Club
  33. The Trust Project
  34. Tibet Action Institute
  35. URL Media
  36. Uyghur Human Rights Project
  37. Vietnamese Abroad PEN Centre
  38. Wallace House Center for Journalists
  39. Washingtonians Supporting Hong Kong (DC4HK)