Operation Midway Blitz was getting underway. Hundreds of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents were being deployed in the Chicago region, apprehending thousands of people. Adriana Pérez ’22 was working her Sunday breaking news shift. The Chicago Tribune reporter normally writes about the environment and climate change, but as one of the newspaper’s native Spanish speakers, she was sent to find and interview witnesses of one of the first arrests: a flower vendor who was picked off the street on Sept. 7, 2025, and deported to Mexico a few days later. For the next two months, more arrests were made, and more stories needed to be told. Pérez paused much of her environment writing to continue interviewing and writing about Spanish-speaking ICE detainees and their families. And she wasn’t working alone — far from it. The Chicago Tribune’s staff of more than 70 reporters, editors, and photojournalists — plus journalists at other publications throughout the city — dug deep into the stories coming to light in their community, ranging from safety risks of ICE tactics to Dr. Phil’s involvement in the immigration raids. One of Pérez’s collaborators was Madeline Buckley ’11, who shares with Pérez both a workplace and a status as an alumna of the University of Notre Dame’s Gallivan Program in Journalism, Ethics, and Democracy (JED). “Everyone feels so connected to Chicago and really wants to do right by Chicago, and I think all of that came through in the reporting.” - Madeline Buckley ’11, Chicago Tribune reporter As a criminal justice reporter, Buckley covered legal issues around immigration arrests, among other topics. She debunked misinformation about protesters and detainees and, for one article, she and two other journalists investigated the Trump administration’s claims about violence perpetrated by protesters against immigration agents. Along with her colleagues, she analyzed court records and attempted to reach about 100 protesters. The resulting story...