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Wendy Wei for Borderless Magazine
More Than Three Years After Russia’s Full-scale Ukraine Invasion, Aid Workers Question: ‘Is Rebuilding Enough? Immigration PolicyInvestigationVisuals

More Than Three Years After Russia’s Full-scale Ukraine Invasion, Aid Workers Question: ‘Is Rebuilding Enough?

Chicago's Ukrainian diaspora has funded millions to reconstruct bombed communities. But as some humanitarian workers pivot from humanitarian work to military action, volunteers face hard questions about effective resistance.
August 12, 2025
Efrain Soriano for Borderless Magazine
City Contractor ‘Failed’ Clients as Migrant Shelter Complaints Mounted, Staffers Say Environment and HealthInvestigationLabor and EconomicsVisuals

City Contractor ‘Failed’ Clients as Migrant Shelter Complaints Mounted, Staffers Say

Chicago is phasing out Favorite Healthcare Staffing after paying the agency $342 million to oversee its shelter system. Records show that Favorite had a poor track record of resolving complaints.
November 19, 2024
Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago
Migrants Navigate State’s Apartment Program On Their Own As Evictions Loom and Help Runs Dry Enforcement and CourtsInvestigation

Migrants Navigate State’s Apartment Program On Their Own As Evictions Loom and Help Runs Dry

The Asylum Seeker Emergency Rental Assistance Program has helped 4,600 households move into apartments. But some migrants supported by the program could lose their homes if they can’t find work.
, and March 18, 2024
Mauricio Peña/Borderless Magazine
Investigation: Chicago Ignored Dozens of Warnings of Migrant Shelter Conditions Before Child’s Death Environment and HealthInvestigation

Investigation: Chicago Ignored Dozens of Warnings of Migrant Shelter Conditions Before Child’s Death

Despite warnings, numerous hospitalizations and dozens of reports, Chicago officials continuously funneled thousands of migrants into an industrial warehouse that was never meant to house people.
, and February 27, 2024
Jesus J. Montero of the Cicero Independiente
Koppers disputes most recent environmental violations but plant records reveal two decades of run-ins with Illinois EPA Environment and HealthInvestigation

Koppers disputes most recent environmental violations but plant records reveal two decades of run-ins with Illinois EPA

After the Illinois EPA sent them a lengthy violations notice last fall, Koppers executives began selling stock at an unprecedented rate. After MuckRock and the Cicero Independiente reported on those violations, the publicly-traded company hired a crisis communications firm to meet with elected officials and manage the community fallout.
, , and February 13, 2024
Photo by Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune
With Congress gridlocked, advocates say it’s up to state and local lawmakers to protect the undocumented elderly Immigration PolicyInvestigation

With Congress gridlocked, advocates say it’s up to state and local lawmakers to protect the undocumented elderly

Advocates say Illinois lawmakers should build welfare programs that mirror those for citizens, like food stamps and unemployment insurance.
and April 14, 2022
Photo by Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune
Chicago’s Undocumented Seniors Face Slim and Dangerous Housing Options Environment and HealthInvestigation

Chicago’s Undocumented Seniors Face Slim and Dangerous Housing Options

With a high cost of living and no social safety net, undocumented seniors often depend on families and are at high risk of losing their homes. This is part three in a series with the Chicago Tribune on the growing population of undocumented seniors in Illinois.
and April 13, 2022
Photo by Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune
Illinois’ New Health Care Program for Undocumented Seniors Leaves Some of the Most Vulnerable Behind Environment and HealthInvestigation

Illinois’ New Health Care Program for Undocumented Seniors Leaves Some of the Most Vulnerable Behind

The program enrolled over 9,000 people in its first year, but doesn’t cover long-term care — a dangerous pitfall for many undocumented seniors.
and April 12, 2022
Photo by Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune
Aging in the Shadows: A Crisis of Older Undocumented Workers Awaits Illinois Environment and HealthInvestigation

Aging in the Shadows: A Crisis of Older Undocumented Workers Awaits Illinois

The number of undocumented immigrants ages 65 and over in Illinois is set to grow exponentially. Advocates say it’s a crisis in the making. Injustice Watch and the Chicago Tribune teamed up to report on the challenges facing Illinois’ aging undocumented population.
and April 11, 2022
Jaida Grey Eagle / Sahan Journal
Midwestern community colleges work to lure, and keep, students struggling with poverty and other barriers EducationInvestigation

Midwestern community colleges work to lure, and keep, students struggling with poverty and other barriers

From free tuition to food pantries, two-year colleges try to counteract plunging enrollments with new programs to make college more affordable and accessible
, , and December 21, 2021
Laila Milevski/ProPublica
Dozens of Traumatized Afghan Kids Struggle Inside a Shelter That’s Ill-Equipped to Care for Them Enforcement and CourtsInvestigation

Dozens of Traumatized Afghan Kids Struggle Inside a Shelter That’s Ill-Equipped to Care for Them

Some Afghan children at a Chicago shelter have hurt themselves or others, leaving workers overwhelmed. Employees say the shelter has never experienced this level of chaos and isn’t equipped to provide kids with services they need.
October 28, 2021
COVID-19, ICE, detention, Chicago, Midwest, sanctuary, immigrant, data, cases, CDC, outbreaks, pandemicPhoto by Camilla Forte/Borderless Magazine
As COVID-19 Spread Through Midwest Detention Centers, ICE Struggled to Provide Accurate Data  Environment and HealthInvestigation

As COVID-19 Spread Through Midwest Detention Centers, ICE Struggled to Provide Accurate Data 

Inaccessible and inconsistent, statistics publicly reported by the enforcement agency contribute to its systemic mishandling of COVID-19 — underscoring a clear need for greater oversight, researchers say.
and July 14, 2021
ICE Deported a Woman Who Accused Guards of Sexual Assault While the Feds Were Still Investigating the Incident Investigation

ICE Deported a Woman Who Accused Guards of Sexual Assault While the Feds Were Still Investigating the Incident

Allegations include guards attacking victims in camera “blind spots” and telling them that “no one would believe” them in ICE detention centers, which imprison about 50,000 immigrants each year at a taxpayer expense of $2.7 billion.
September 17, 2020
essential worker, protestFrancisco Velazquez/Borderless Magazine
‘We Just Want What We Deserve’: Former Strauss Meatpacking Employees Protest Unsafe Working Conditions During COVID  InvestigationLabor and Economics

‘We Just Want What We Deserve’: Former Strauss Meatpacking Employees Protest Unsafe Working Conditions During COVID 

Workers say they were fired after complaining about the lack of coronavirus safety measures. Over 17,000 COVID-19 cases have been reported among meat and poultry workers in the United States.
September 16, 2020