Borderless Wins National Journalistic Impact Award
The nonprofit news outlet’s investigations into Chicago migrant shelters were recognized at the 2024 LION Awards.
Nissa RheeSeptember 12, 2024
Day Laborers Say They Are Being Beaten, Harassed Outside Home Depot By Off-Duty Cops
Criminal trespassing arrests have skyrocketed at a Southwest Side Home Depot as recently arrived migrants seek work, and day laborers say they’re being mistreated as a result.
Sebastián Hidalgo / City BureauAugust 6, 2024
Investigation: Chicago Ignored Dozens of Warnings of Migrant Shelter Conditions Before Child’s Death
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.
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.
Chicago Mayor, Shelter Officials Respond to Living Conditions Following a Borderless Investigation
The response comes just days after a 5-year-old boy fell sick and died, and others were hospitalized.
Chicago Police Officer Accused Of Impregnating Migrant Teen Living In West Side Station: Reports
Other officers are accused of "improper sexual relations" with immigrants who had been sleeping in police stations when they had no place else to go, law enforcement sources told the Chicago Sun-Times.
Madison SavedraJuly 7, 2023
Chicago Police Denied Scores of Undocumented Crime Victims a Path to Citizenship
Immigrants seeking U visas are being blocked by two sergeants who were previously involved in controversial shootings and on the verge of being fired.
Carlos BallesterosJanuary 17, 2023
West Chicago is Cleaning Up the Last of its Nuclear Contamination. Residents Exposed to Radiation Say ‘It’s Not Over’
A local factory was once the largest producer of thorium in the world. This fall, the “radioactive capital of the Midwest” is doing one last cleanup.
Liuan HuskaJuly 12, 2022
Lawsuit: Indiana Jail Neglects Immigrants While Using ICE Funds as ‘Cash Cow’
A National Immigrant Justice Center lawsuit alleges that detained immigrants are being held in inhumane conditions, while Clay County misuses the money they receive from ICE to care for detainees.
Chelsea VerstegenJune 8, 2022
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.
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.
Illinois’ New Health Care Program for Undocumented Seniors Leaves Some of the Most Vulnerable Behind
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.
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.
How The Chicago School Fight Impacts First-Gen High School Students
Caught in the crossfire between Chicago’s school district and the teachers union, students ask who is protecting their health.
Leslie HurtadoJanuary 11, 2022
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
Immigrant Community College Students Struggle to Find Support During COVID
City Colleges of Chicago immigrant students balance extra work hours, technology issues and limited English proficiency with remote learning.
Ata YounanDecember 16, 2021
As Afghan Children Come to the US, Disagreements Ignite Over Who Should Care for Them
Organizers are calling for alternatives to facilities for unaccompanied Afghan refugee children run by Chicago nonprofit Heartland Alliance.
Chelsea VerstegenNovember 11, 2021
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.
Melissa SanchezOctober 28, 2021
At Last in the US, a Transgender Asylum Seeker Finds Her Footing
After crossing the U.S.-Mexico border to seek asylum, Susana Coreas is navigating life in New York City and building community along the way.
Claudia HernándezOctober 21, 2021
Immigrant Artists Lose Their Home After Contentious Eviction
The developer who ordered the eviction will demolish the Little Village building that housed the community space La Casa del Inmigrante.
Alexandra ArriagaSeptember 16, 2021
Future of Little Village’s Discount Mall Still Uncertain, One Year After Sale
Latinx business owners worry about the fate of their stores at the iconic Discount Mall in Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood.
Adriana RezalSeptember 14, 2021
As Chicago Schools Reopen, Hispanic Families Seek Support
Remote learning exposed cracks in the CPS system, hurting some students more than others. Are schools prepared for their return?
Adriana RezalAugust 31, 2021
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.
As Chicago Reopens, Immigrant Restaurateurs Reflect on An Unprecedented Year
Facing an uncertain future, immigrant-owned restaurants are navigating recovery after a pandemic hiatus with creativity and grit.
Diane Bou KhalilJuly 8, 2021
As Immigration Laws Change, One McHenry Man Slips Through the Cracks
Both President Biden and Illinois Gov. Pritzker have recently changed immigration policies to better protect undocumented families. But for one local father of five, those changes have not gone far enough.
Adriana RezalJune 30, 2021
FOIA Victory Bolsters Calls for Real Immigration Reform
A class action lawsuit is pressuring the government to process freedom of information requests for critical immigration documents faster. However, immigrants and advocates worry that the recent changes are not enough.
Alexander ShurJune 1, 2021
The Family that Transgender Asylum Seekers Built
Mexico’s Casa de Colores has provided a home to a group of Salvadoran transgender women while they wait for asylum in the United States.
Claudia HernándezMarch 11, 2021
For Cheaper COVID Treatment, Americans Travel to Mexico
Cheaper medicine and doctor visits have drawn Mexican-Americans to Ciudad Juárez during the pandemic, despite concerns about COVID.
Claudia HernándezOctober 28, 2020
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.
Lomi KrielSeptember 17, 2020
‘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.
Francisco VelazquezSeptember 16, 2020
ICE Has Access to DACA Recipients’ Personal Information Despite Promises Suggesting Otherwise, Internal Emails Show
Trump promised that information from DACA applications would not be sent to deportation agents. But internal emails show that ICE can access databases where that information is kept — and DHS decided not to tell Congress.
Dara LindJune 17, 2020
‘Hard-to-Count’ Assyrian community prepares for the census amid COVID-19
Local Assyrian leaders are encouraging community members to participate and write in ‘Assyrian’ as their race in this year’s census after massive undercounting in previous national surveys.
Ata YounanMay 6, 2020
Dispatches from a COVID-19 hotspot: A neighborhood transformed
Chicago’s thriving, multicultural neighborhood West Ridge has been my beloved home ever since I left Lebanon four years ago. It is now a COVID-19 hotspot.
Diane Bou KhalilApril 29, 2020
Locked Up With COVID-19
How the coronavirus pandemic is straining immigration court and detention systems in the Midwest.
Nissa RheeApril 15, 2020
At Least 19 Children at a Chicago Shelter for Immigrant Detainees Have Tested Positive for COVID-19
A coronavirus outbreak at a Heartland Alliance facility on Chicago’s South Side may be the largest outbreak of the virus in any shelter for immigrant youth in the country.
Melissa SanchezApril 15, 2020
The fight to release Beto
After ICE detained Jesus Alberto “Beto” Lopez Gutierrez on his drive home from camping, his family has banded together to challenge his detention and deportation.
Irene RomuloJanuary 29, 2020
