Want to receive this digest in your inbox? To subscribe, simply click here and choose DARE: Daily Alert on Rights and Expression from the list.

*PEN America is closed tomorrow and Friday in observance of Independence Day. The DARE will resume on Monday, July 8.*

Photos emerge from government immigrant detention centers closed to public view. Trump administration abandons adding citizenship question to the 2020 census after being blocked by the Supreme Court. Prosecutors charge man who tweeted lynching image to candidate with felony. PEN America writers reflect on the experiences of migration. (Read all of them here.) -Dru Menaker, Chief Operating Officer

The most pressing threats and notable goings-on in free expression today

U.S.

Border Agents Confiscated Lawmakers’ Phones. Joaquin Castro Captured Photo and Video Anyway.
Though many members in the delegation used their social media platforms to describe with words what they saw and heard, Castro’s stealthily captured photos and videos served as a rare window into the Border Patrol stations and detention facilities that the Trump administration has made increasingly difficult to access.
WASHINGTON POST

2020 Census Won’t Have Citizenship Question as Trump Administration Drops Effort
Officials at the Census Bureau itself have said that including the question would lead to an undercount of noncitizens and minority residents. As a result, areas with more immigrants, which tend to vote Democratic, could have lost both representation and federal funding.
NEW YORK TIMES

Twitter User Could Face Jail for Lynching Tweet Against Muslim Candidate
Prosecutors say that when Joseph Cecil Vandevere decided in March 2018 to anonymously tweet a graphic image of a lynching to a Muslim candidate, he was actually using interstate communication to transmit a threat―a felony.
HUFFPOST

Jhumpa Lahiri and Hari Kunzru Reflect on America’s Immigration Crisis
As July 4th approaches, PEN America has gathered a series of statements from a number of writers and activists in the literary community on America’s immigration crisis, human rights abuses, and what freedom means to us. Here are the thoughts from Jhumpa Lahiri and Hari Kunzru.
LIT HUB

 
Global

Myanmar Court Drops Case Against Journalist
A prominent Myanmar journalist accused of defaming a hardline nationalist monk dubbed the “Buddhist Bin Laden” has had the case against him dropped, his lawyer said. Myanmar Now editor Swe Win had been on trial for two years after posting an article on Facebook criticizing the preacher abbot Wirathu.
CNA

German Court Fines Facebook over Hate Speech Action Failings
A German court fined Facebook 2 million euros for not being transparent enough over the action it is taking to curb online hate speech. Under a new regulation from January 2018, companies like Twitter and Facebook have 24 hours to remove posts that openly violate German law after they are flagged by users.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

Media Bosses in the Dark on Journalist Prosecutions
Media executives have received no assurances from the Morrison government that journalists targeted in police raids won’t be prosecuted amid growing concerns federal parliament’s powerful intelligence and security committee is the wrong forum to investigate press freedom.
THE AUSTRALIAN

Letter: Talib Kweli’s Removal from Festival Lineup Is Part of Anti-Palestinian Censorship Trend
“Attempts in Germany to impose political conditions on artists who support Palestinian rights, particularly targeting people of color and queer artists, comprise a shameful trend of censorship, anti-Palestinian repression, and attacks on freedom of conscience.”
GUARDIAN

DARE is a project of PEN America’s #LouderTogether campaign, bringing you a daily-curated roundup of the most important free expression-related news from the U.S. and abroad. Send your feedback and story suggestions to [email protected]