The Chicago metro area is home to 1.7 million immigrants, equating to about 18 percent of its population.
For Borderless Magazine, a Chicago-based nonprofit newsroom focused on immigrant communities, that makes for plenty of stories to tell—and a diverse set of information needs to meet.
Started as a volunteer-run media project in 2017, Borderless now has a full-time staff of five working from an office in Uptown. Its reporting has profiled a growing population of Black immigrants, uncovered fatal problems in city-run migrant shelters, and it became the only local news publication in the country to publish work in Dari, commonly spoken by Afghan refugees, through bilingual coverage of a local refugee soccer team.
An award-winning, eight-part narrative and photographic series, "After the Buses," co-published with Block Club Chicago, followed ten of the first people to arrive on buses sent to Chicago from Texas as part of Gov. Greg Abbott's Operation Lone Star. The series depicted their personal aspirations, struggles, and uncertainties as they began life in an unfamiliar city.
"Everyone deserves fair news coverage that accurately reflects their lived experiences regardless of their immigration status," says Mauricio Peña, Borderless's editorial director. "We want to make sure their voices are centered in stories where policies and decisions from elected officials directly impact their lives."
Achieving its community-centric mission meant finding new ways to engage the public—a challenge for all news organizations, but more difficult still when compounded by language, accessibility, and trust barriers. Borderless staff knew something else was needed.
In 2022, it launched a novel field canvassing program in immigrant neighborhoods including Pilsen, Little Village, and Albany Park. Over an initial span of 12 weeks, paid, Spanish-speaking ambassadors met residents one-on-one to introduce Borderless and share resources and print versions of its work. Canvassers conducted in-depth surveys to identify coverage gaps and understand how the newsroom could best meet local information needs.
"We've built relationships with community leaders, local businesses, and advocacy groups that share our commitment to serving immigrant populations by meeting people where they are," says Diane Bou Khalil, marketing and engagement manager.
"These connections have been instrumental in amplifying our impact and ensuring our stories and resources are relevant and accessible. Our field canvassers have become trusted figures in their neighborhoods, fostering a sense of community and mutual support that strengthens our mission."
Borderless staff spun their experiences into a comprehensive Field Canvasser Playbook, a how-to guide that other news organizations can use and build on. The guide includes tips on how to hire, how to select canvassing locations, and what supplies make for a good canvassing kit.
"We've learned the profound impact of face-to-face interactions in building trust with immigrant communities and people often skeptical of traditional mainstream media," Khalil says.
Borderless's canvassing program earned national recognition with awards including the 2022 Community Engagement Award from LION Publishers and the 2023 Online News Association's Gather Award for Community-Centered Journalism, and staff have led sessions for peers at media gatherings such as the Institute for Nonprofit News's INN Days.
"We're in an industry that hasn't served communities of color and immigrants well," Peña says. "We are in a moment where we can transform how we create and distribute news and engage with our audience. It’s not enough to simply report the news; we have to be on the ground, sharing our stories with the community and listening."
"I hope, as an industry, we can be more active to build bridges and foster trust that has eroded, especially for communities that haven’t been prioritized."
The Driehaus Foundation supports Borderless Magazine through its investigative journalism program. Read their work at borderlessmag.org.
