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Borderless Magazine

@borderless_mag

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Chicago's nonprofit newsroom covering immigration.
Stories that inform, connect & inspire.
@borderlessmag.es for Spanish.

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From a DIY skate park to restaurant favorites, artist and curator Alejandro Quiroz shares the spaces that reflect the spirit of the McKinley Park community.

Borderless Guidebook is a multipart project produced by Borderless Magazine and co-published with the @chicago_reader that celebrates Chicago neighborhoods with significant immigrant communities, highlighting the history, businesses and people that help shape them.

✍️ Read the full guide by @camillafortesilva at the link in our bio.
📹 Video by @camillafortesilva by @borderless_mag

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2 months ago

As we welcome October, let’s catch up on what you might have missed this September. From immigration court and language access to SNAP, Medicaid, Chicago schools, mental health care, and the people and places shaping our neighborhoods, here’s a look at some of Borderless Magazine’s reporting from September. Swipe through to catch up on the stories, guides, and explainers you may have missed.

What story did you catch this month?

Photos 1, 3–5, and 7–9 by @camillafortesilva/Borderless Magazine/CatchLight Local/Report for America

2: Photo by Alyssa Schukar
6: Photo by Max Herman/Borderless Magazine

10: Illustration by Grace Herzog for Medill School of Journalism/Borderless Magazine
11: Rebecca Gratz for Borderless Magazine by @borderless_mag

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12 days ago

We’re excited to introduce a fresh new look for our newsletter while still continuing to publish the same community-centered reporting and resources you count on from Borderless.

Every week, thousands of readers turn to Borderless for free, bilingual reporting that reflects the real lives of Chicago’s immigrants — from breaking down complex policies to sharing community resources and celebrating culture.

A big thank you to M. Harris & Kern and Press Forward for helping bring this next chapter to life.

Link in bio to see what’s changed and subscribe to stay connected. by @borderless_mag

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3 months ago

ICE arrests are back up, but in a less visible way — advocates and experts say.

They say agents are making targeted arrests of individuals, with quieter tactics on the ground.

“It feels very different than it did in the fall of last year,” Karina Martinez, communications coordinator at BPNC said. “But they still remain in our communities and that means you have to look out for your neighbors if you see something strange.”

Borderless spoke with immigration advocates, experts and attorneys to learn more about this increase in ICE arrests similar to Midway Blitz, and their recommendations for immigrants in Chicago.

✍️ Read the full story by @taramobasher at the link in our bio.
📸 Photos by @camillafortesilva (1), AP Photo/Erin Hooley (5), Max Herman/Borderless Magazine (6) by @borderless_mag

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17 hours ago

City Script is a street art workshop built around a two-sided mural: a color-by-number design on one side and a freestyle section on the other.

The goal: encouraging Chicagoans to participate in public art without worrying about perfection.

It’s part of founder Daniel Ponce’s exploration of what it would look like to make art outside of traditional artistic spaces. He started hosting City Script street art events through his company, Proof Studios, in March 2025.

City Script has since held pop-ups in Bronzeville, Pilsen, Hyde Park, Little Village and other local neighborhoods.

Ponce says he hopes programming allows people to “walk away feeling inspired, or seen, or felt, or understood.”

✍️ Read the full story by Araceli Ramirez at the link in our bio.
📸 Photos by Araceli Ramirez by @borderless_mag

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16 days ago

As part of federal funding cuts, refugees will no longer be eligible for Medicaid starting Oct. 1. This is the latest in a series of federal cuts affecting refugees with disabilities, from reductions to Refugee Medical Assistance to changes to SNAP.

Medicaid previously provided free or low-cost health care coverage to immigrants with certain humanitarian protections, including asylum seekers, refugees and victims of trafficking or domestic violence.

“We’re extremely concerned about the changes,” said Kalie Riemer, community health manager at RefugeeOne. “Our clients with disabilities and medical conditions rely on Medicaid not just for health insurance, but for a significant number of their other resources.”

✍️ Read the full story by Chelsea Verstegen at the link in our bio.
📸 Photos by Rebecca Gratz for Borderless Magazine (1, 3) and @maxhermanphoto (7) by @borderless_mag

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17 days ago

From a lively pool hall to a bakery selling traditional Mexican sweet breads, tattoo artist Brian Nazario shares the spots that he believes makes Albany Park unique.

Borderless Guidebook is a multipart project produced by Borderless Magazine and co-published with the @chicago_reader that celebrates Chicago neighborhoods with significant immigrant communities, highlighting the history, businesses and people that help shape them.

✍️ Read the full guide by @camillafortesilva at the link in our bio.
📹 Video by @camillafortesilva with support from @report4america + @catchlight.io by @borderless_mag

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19 days ago

We’re bringing our reporting off the page and onto the stage with BorderlessLive!, an evening of conversation, storytelling and community connection at the Chicago History Museum on Thursday, October 8 at 6:30 pm.

The inaugural symposium and fundraiser will bring together journalists, civic leaders, organizers, artists and community members for conversations about immigration, identity and belonging in Chicago.

Jerry Tran, an artist and comedian, will host the evening, which will feature a performance by Yaoyolotl Tezcatlipoca, an Aztec dance troupe, along with live harp music by Dany Harp (Dany Rojas). Together, these performances will bring Chicago’s vibrant artistic and cultural community to life throughout the evening.

🎟️ Join us October 8 and be part of the conversation. Tickets are going fast. Link in bio. by @borderless_mag

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22 days ago

Every day, hundreds of immigrants navigate Chicago’s immigration court speaking languages spanning from Kichwa, an indigenous language common in Ecuador, to Somali and Mandarin.

For some, an interpreter's inaccuracy could mean being returned to a country where they faced violence, persecution and sometimes death.

Over five months, Borderless witnessed how misunderstandings in translations diminished an asylum seeker’s credibility, or made it hard for them to plead their case.

“How you use language — that matters a lot,” said immigration attorney Isabel Li. “If the interpretation cannot really convey that kind of feeling we want … if they’re not saying it the way my client actually says it, sometimes it would affect the judge’s feelings.”

✍️ Read the full story by Grace Herzog and Sarah Serota at the link in our bio.
📸 Illustration by Grace Herzog by @borderless_mag

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23 days ago

We’re bringing our reporting off the page and onto the stage with BorderlessLive!, an evening of conversation, storytelling and community connection at the Chicago History Museum on Thursday, October 8 at 6:30 pm.

The inaugural symposium and fundraiser will bring together journalists, civic leaders, organizers, artists and community members for conversations about immigration, identity and belonging in Chicago.

The evening will feature:
- Beatriz Ponce de León, Chicago’s Deputy Mayor for Immigrant, Migrant, and Refugee Rights
- Alderperson Andre Vasquez Jr., Chair of the City Council Committee on Immigrant and Refugee Rights
- Maudlyne Ihejirika, Field Foundation Director of Journalism & Storytelling, Retired Chicago Sun-Times Columnist.
Suzanne Akhras, MedGlobal’s Corporate & Foundation Engagement Specialist, and founder of Syrian Community Network
- Xanat Sobrevilla, Organized Communities Against Deportations
- Jerry Tran, artist, comedian, and our MC
- Yaoyolotl Tezcatlipoca, Aztec dance troupe
- Dany Harp (Dany Rojas), Musician

You’ll also hear from Nancy Villafranca-Guzman, Borderless Magazine’s new Executive Director, and Nissa Rhee, our co-founder and former Executive Director, who recently passed the torch after nine years of building Borderless.

Doors open at 6:30 PM. Come curious. Leave connected.

Get your tickets TODAY: https://borderlessmag.org/borderlesslive/ taken in Chicago, Illinois by @borderless_mag

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24 days ago

The Crisis Assistance Response and Engagement (CARE) program, launched in 2021, sends clinicians and EMTs to offer emergency assistance that doesn’t involve the police to help people experiencing mental health crises or behavioral distress.

It expanded citywide in May and has served over 2,600 people since its launch.

Borderless spoke with the head of the CARE program to explain the service.

✍️ Read the full story by F. Amanda Tugade at the link in our bio.
📸 Photos by @camillafortesilva with support from @report4america and @catchlight.io by @borderless_mag

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25 days ago

A Borderless Magazine investigation found that hundreds of Somali asylum seekers’ cases are being fast-tracked through Chicago’s immigration court this year.

The immigration court’s so-called “rocket docket” is moving up asylum seekers’ hearings by months or even years ahead of their originally scheduled dates.

Legal experts say this rushed timeline is making it difficult for asylum seekers to gather the critical documents from their home countries.

“It’s extremely rare for there to be a clear targeting of a certain nationality in such an overt way like what’s happening with Somalis,” said Stephanie Spiro, associate director of protection-based relief at the NIJC. “There is animus, there is a prejudicial targeting.”

✍️ Read the full story by Ben Lauren at the link in our bio.
📸 Photos by @maxhermanphoto (1) and Alyssa Schukar (5) by @borderless_mag

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a month ago