Alma Campos
@almacampos.bsky.social
Immigration reporter @chicago.suntimes.com almacampos.com email: acampos@chicagopublicmedia.org
I’m a journalist looking to connect with people in the Chicago area who have renounced their US citizenship, are seriously considering leaving the U.S., have already moved abroad, or feel they would leave if they could but are tied here by money, family, immigration status, caregiving etc. Msg me.
I used the little French I know in my reporting today. It was a reminder I should keep learning it.
I’m a journalist looking to connect with people in the Chicago area who are seriously considering leaving the U.S., have already moved abroad, or feel they would leave if they could but are tied here by money, family, immigration status, caregiving, custody or work. Feel free to reach out.
20 years ago, Flor lost a job after trying to support immigrant workers in the 2006 march. This year, she brought her family to May Day. For her, the march has become something passed down and a way of refusing to disappear. chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/...
For May Day, Chicago mom takes her family to a protest: ‘I have never heard of any right being won from home’
Twenty years ago, Flor Ramirez lost her job for trying to stand with immigrant workers on May Day. Now, she brings her family to the march, hoping her children learn not to stay silent.
chicago.suntimes.com
Immigrant communities have lived with lethal enforcement for decades, and recent deaths of immigrants like Silverio Villegas Gonzalez often pass without outrage or accountability. Our editorial note this week: southsideweekly.com/this-violenc...
This Violence is not New
Maintaining attention and solidarity with immigrant communities is essential, not just when citizens are affected.
southsideweekly.com
After months on the picket line in Little Village, Teamsters at the Mauser plant have reached an agreement, union leaders told @southsideweekly.bsky.social on Friday. The strike began over unsafe conditions, low pay, and job security. Full story ✍️ José Abonce southsideweekly.com/little-villa...
Little Village Mauser Workers Reach Deal
fter seven months on the picket line, Teamsters from Local 705 at Mauser Packaging Solutions’ Millard plant in Little Village reached an agreement to end the strike on January 21. Workers began strik...
southsideweekly.com
Many Venezuelans cheered Maduro’s capture, yet still can’t go home. Families face a paradox: relief over a dictator’s fall, but ongoing legal uncertainty keeps many confined at home for fear of deportation. My latest for @southsideweekly.bsky.social southsideweekly.com/far-from-fre...
Far From Free: Venezuelan Migrants in Limbo After Maduro Capture
As the situation in Venezuela worsens, migrants in Chicago face heightened immigration restrictions and uncertainty.
southsideweekly.com
The national response to Minneapolis has me revisiting the killing of Silverio González Villegas by ICE in Franklin Park, IL. I reported on it last fall. Worth remembering. southsideweekly.com/a-tragic-hom...
A Tragic Homecoming
After nearly two decades in Chicago, Silverio Villegas González returned to Michoacán in a coffin. His death at the hands of federal agents left two families divided by borders, shattered with grief, ...
southsideweekly.com
Shout out to @blockclubchi.bsky.social for helping amplify our investigation into how fraudsters are targeting immigrants seeking legal help, exposing costly scams that exploit people already navigating a confusing legal system. Read the full republish here: blockclubchicago.org/2025/12/10/f...
Fraudsters Target Immigrants Seeking Legal Help
In Illinois, immigrants have lost thousands of dollars to notarios offering legal assistance they’re not qualified to provide — as well as other impostors. Nationally, the figure is at least $1.2 mill...
blockclubchicago.org
Residents Move Out Of Raided South Shore Building As Court-Ordered Deadline Arrives Friday Some residents said they were moving in with loved ones, while others were preparing for a night on the streets ahead of a weekend cold snap. @afrodip.bsky.social blockclubchicago.org/2025/12/12/r...
We’ve been following developments at 7500 South Shore, where families have endured worsening conditions for months. Now, after forming a union, tenants have been ordered to vacate by Dec. 12—just as winter sets in & the building becomes nearly unlivable. ✍️ Caeli Kean via @southsideweekly.bsky.social
Raided South Shore Building Tenants Ordered to Leave
Tenants of a South Shore building raided by federal agents are ordered to vacate by Dec. 12, despite freezing weather and unsafe, deteriorating conditions.
southsideweekly.com
This isn’t just about individual scams but also about a system so confusing and inaccessible that people feel they have no choice but to trust anyone promising a path forward. And reporting fraud is just as complicated.
Alma Campos@almacampos.bsky.social · 8mo agoA new investigation I reported w/ Max Blaisdell shows how immigrants seeking legal help are being targeted by scams. During a time when people are desperate for work permits, green cards, or asylum, notarios & impostors can exploit that fear. Via @southsideweekly.bsky.social @typeinvestigations.org
A new investigation I reported w/ Max Blaisdell shows how immigrants seeking legal help are being targeted by scams. During a time when people are desperate for work permits, green cards, or asylum, notarios & impostors can exploit that fear. Via @southsideweekly.bsky.social @typeinvestigations.org
Fraudsters target immigrants seeking legal help
In Illinois, immigrants have lost thousands of dollars to notarios offering legal assistance they’re not qualified to provide—as well as other impostors. Nationally, the figure is at least $1.2 millio...
southsideweekly.com
Glad this work is getting the attention it deserves. Glad to have been part of it.
South Side Weekly@southsideweekly.bsky.social · 9mo agoSeveral Chicago newsrooms spent two months collecting and analyzing evidence of ICE & Border Patrol's use of tear gas and pepper spray in Chicago. They found that agents deployed chemical agents nearly 50 times. Most uses occurred after a judge ordered federal agents to restrict their use.
We just published a cross-newsroom investigation into the use of tear gas and pepper spray during Operation Midway Blitz. Reporters, photographers, and editors from across Chicago reviewed dozens of videos to build a verified record of how these weapons were used in our neighborhoods.
Feds Used Chemical Agents Dozens of Times in Chicago—Even After Judge Said To Stop
An investigation by reporters from six newsrooms found that agents used chemical irritants nearly 50 times during Operation Midway Blitz.
southsideweekly.com
South Side Weekly’s reporting on the South Shore raid was featured on @maddow.bsky.social yesterday! (Story link in thread)
I’m grateful to share I received two awards from the Chicago Journalists Association this year: First Place in Immigration Coverage, & Second Place for the Dorothy Stork Award. Thank you to the Chicago Journalists Association and an amazing team @southsideweekly.bsky.social
A judge ordered agents involved in the Chicago deportation blitz to have "visible identification … prominently displayed." But they've been missing in dozens of @chicago.suntimes.com photographs. From @bylaurenfitz.bsky.social, Anthony Vazquez and Ashlee Rezin: chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/...
IDs are mismatched, illegible or still missing 3 weeks after judge’s order to immigration officers
In dozens of photographs at four locations, Chicago Sun-Times photojournalists documented federal officers failing to wear the “visible identification” needed to hold individuals accountable during th...
chicago.suntimes.com
From the Increase the Peace IG. We see federal agents here dragging a man out of this barbershop in Brighton Park a short while ago. The man yells in Spanish “You’re hurting me! You’re hurting me! Help me!”
I’ve been tracking this contract since 2023, and last week, Cook County quietly renewed it. As ICE raids continue across Chicago, the board approved another $1M deal with a data broker tied to ICE. My latest for @southsideweekly.bsky.social
Cook County Board Reapproves Contract with ICE-Linked Data Firm as Raids Sweep Chicago
Four years after first being warned that a contract risked exposing immigrant data to ICE, Cook County approved another renewal—this time with advocates commissioners voicing frustration that stronger...
southsideweekly.com
Grateful to be nominated for the Dorothy Storck Award—an honor named after a trailblazing Chicago journalist. 📝🕵️♀️ Thank you Chicago Journlaists Association and congrats to the finalists. 🎉
South Side Weekly@southsideweekly.bsky.social · 9mo agoCongratulations to our immigration project editor @almacampos.bsky.social on being named a finalist for the CJA's prestigious Dorothy Storck award! Here's a thread of some of Alma's recent work. 🧵1/5
"Nearly everyone involved in this effort is a woman: the work of finding missing family members, like many other forms of labor for incarcerated people, is largely carried by women."
Thank you, Cicero Independiente, for republishing my story. 📝
South Side Weekly@southsideweekly.bsky.social · 10mo agoThanks to our friends at Cicero Independiente for republishing @almacampos.bsky.social's moving reporting on the last journey home for Silverio Villegas González, who ICE agents killed near Chicago in September.
Thank you @blockclubchi.bsky.social for publishing my story!
Block Club Chicago@blockclubchi.bsky.social · 10mo agoAfter nearly two decades in Chicago, Silverio Villegas González returned to Michoacán in a coffin. His death at the hands of federal agents left two families divided by borders, shattered with grief, and with a lot of unanswered questions. blockclubchi.co/4nbo28H
Thank you to @blockclubchi.bsky.social for republishing @almacampos.bsky.social's moving reporting on the final journey of Silverio Villegas González, who was killed by federal agents last month in Franklin Park. blockclubchicago.org/2025/10/20/a...
A Tragic Homecoming
After nearly two decades in Chicago, Silverio Villegas González returned to Michoacán in a coffin. His death at the hands of federal agents left two families divided by borders, shattered with grief, ...
blockclubchicago.org
@almacampos.bsky.social always delivers good work and this story is worth a read: A Tragic Homecoming. About the return of Silverio Villegas González’s body to Michoacan after he was killed by the U.S. government southsideweekly.com/a-tragic-hom...
A Tragic Homecoming
After nearly two decades in Chicago, Silverio Villegas González returned to Michoacán in a coffin. His death at the hands of federal agents left two families divided by borders, shattered with grief, ...
southsideweekly.com
So glad to have worked on this one with amazing reporters Maira Khwaja @invisible.institute, Jose Abonce @southsideweekly.bsky.social and our SSW editing team @jimdaleywrites.bsky.social
South Side Weekly@southsideweekly.bsky.social · 10mo agoNEW: In the weeks leading up to a massive ICE raid at a South Shore apartment building, neighbors saw drones surveilling the area, and teachers at a nearby school regularly saw agents in the neighborhood. ✍️ Jose Abonce for the Weekly and Maira Khwaja for @invisible.institute
Weekends aren't a real thing for me these days.
