Source: Foreign Policy
by Julia Harte
“The Justice Department once prosecuted a U.S. journalist for coming home without a passport after a reporting trip to Cuba. He was charged with violating an obscure requirement in the Immigration and Nationality Act. As the journalist pointed out, dozens of white Americans had reentered the United States without passports for various reasons since the law’s enactment, but only he—a Black reporter with a penchant for muckraking—had been punished for doing so. This happened in 1962, under President John F. Kennedy, and the target was William Worthy, one of the nation’s most distinguished international correspondents. … Today, Worthy is unknown to most Americans. But 64 years after the court case that briefly made him a household name, his legacy is more relevant than ever. His story shows how precedent set by Kennedy helped pave the way for future administrations, including Donald Trump’s, to suppress speech and foreign influences that challenge U.S. geopolitical interests.” (10/13/26)