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VOLUME 42 NUMBER 5 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2013 $5 Chicago to Mexico When immigrants are deported, their nightmares may still continue. page 6 CHICAGOREPORTER.COM INSIDE September/October Founded in 1972, the Reporter is an investigative bimonthly that identifies, analyzes and reports on the social, eco- nomic and political issues of metropolitan Chicago with a focus on race and poverty. It is supported by grants from The Chicago Community Trust; Chicago Tribune Foundation; Richard H. Driehaus Foundation; Ford Foundation; Lloyd A. Fry Foundation; The Fund for Investigative Journalism; IRE Data Journalism Fund, sponsored by Google Ideas; McCormick Foundation; Open Society Foundations; Woods Fund of Chicago; and by subscriptions and individual contributions. FOUNDER John A. McDermott INTERIM PUBLISHER Laura S. Washington INTERIM EDITOR Rui Kaneya PRESENTATION EDITOR Christine Wachter REPORTERS Angela Caputo María Inés Zamudio Deportees stand outside the main bus station in Matamoros, Mexico. Many of the men must remain there until they can gather enough money to return home. Photo by María Inés Zamudio. WEB EDITOR Cassandra West BLOGGER/REPORTER On the cover Other departments Yana Kunichoff COPY EDITOR 6 Fear & loathing Reporter News..................... 3 James Tehrani at the border Q & A..................................... 4 PHOTOGRAPHY INTERNS Juan Antonio Labreche The U.S. government is deporting immigrants In Focus................................ 16 Tyler Stabile to Mexican cities rife with violence and drug wars. That’s leaving deportees vulnerable to INTERNS ON THE COVER: theft, extortion and kidnapping, The Chicago Deysi Cuevas Photo illustration by Joe Gallo Evan Moore Reporter has found. EDITOR & PUBLISHER EMERITI Also inside Kimbriell Kelly Got a news tip? Alden K. Loury 13 Evolving electorate The Chicago Reporter brings Alysia Tate injustice to the forefront in the Laura S. Washington Why the Voting Rights Act is still relevant Roy Larson despite demographic shifts. areas of criminal justice, labor, housing, health, immigration 15 A legislative leg-up and government. If you have a The Chicago Reporter is an editorially Removing asset eligibility requirements for tip, call (312) 427-4830, ext. independent news service of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families 4040, or send an email to Community Renewal Society. program is seen as a step forward for the [email protected]. 332 S. Michigan Ave., Suite 500 poor. Chicago, Illinois 60604 (312) 427-4830 Fax: (312) 427-6130 Check us out. We’re blogging daily. [email protected] www.chicagoreporter.com www.chicagonow.com/chicago-muckrakers ISSN 0300-6921. © 2013 Community Renewal Society 2 THE CHICAGO REPORTER | September/October 2013 REPORTER NEWS New leader for digital age On Aug. 7, the Community Renewal made waves. In “Cashed Out,” Capu- Society announced that Susan Smith to looked into the Chicago Housing Richardson has been named editor and Authority’s Housing Choice Voucher publisher of The Chicago Reporter. program and found that many fami- Richardson is an award-winning lies who participate end up living in journalist with more than 25 years of substandard buildings in Chicago’s media experience, focusing on race, pov- most challenged communities. The erty and social inequality, with an em- report got a swift response from phasis on blending narrative and data- Chicago Alderman Leslie Hairston, driven journalism. She joins the staff on whose 5th Ward is home to hundreds Sept. 18. of chronically failing buildings. She “Susan Smith Richardson brings an will explore ways to ban bad land- extraordinary range of talents and jour- lords, Hairston said in early July. She nalistic experience, and a deep commit- will also look at developing tighter ment to social justice,” said Alexander inspection guidelines and response Sharp, acting executive director of CRS, times in emergency situations. And which publishes the Reporter. “Under Susan Smith Richardson Hairston pledged to reach out to her leadership, the Reporter will break housing advocacy groups to develop new investigative ground for years to writer at the John D. and Catherine T. guidelines that could be “codified” in come.” MacArthur Foundation. a city ordinance. Laura S. Washington, the Reporter’s In 2002, she received a Nieman Fel- The Reporter has selected two out- interim publisher, said that Richardson lowship at Harvard University and con- standing photojournalism fellows for brings “a unique mix of skills, connec- tinued her studies at Harvard’s Kennedy 2013-14. tions and savvy,” to the Reporter. “She’s School of Government, earning a mas- Michelle Kanaar, a Miami native, ready to lead the Reporter as it expands ter’s degree in public administration in recently completed a photography its digital footprint and take us to new 2004. internship at the Miami Herald. She heights.” A distinguished, search committee received a master’s degree with a Race and class, Richardson says, are recommended Richardson from a concentration in photojournalism “hot-button issues in Chicago and the “stellar” pool of candidates from from the University of Missouri in nation.” She adds that “through its for- around the nation, Washington said. 2012 and a bachelor’s in international midable investigative reporting, the “The committee agreed that Susan’s studies from the University of Reporter has exposed the many ways credentials and intellect are first-rate. We North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The in which these issues play out in the are extremely grateful to the committee native Spanish speaker also speaks city, state and nation. Moving forward, for contributing their wisdom and intermediate Dutch and Arabic. we need to maintain our commitment expertise to this singular task.” Sophia Allison is a senior at to reporting about social and economic Richardson succeeds former Editor Columbia College Chicago, studying inequality while developing new story- and Publisher Kimbriell Kelly, who de- photography with a concentration in telling techniques and editorial features, parted last fall to become an investiga- photojournalism. The Los Angeles and a digital presence to engage a broad- tive reporter at The Washington Post. native moved to Chicago’s south er audience in an informed conversation Washington stepped in to serve as in- suburbs in 2003. Since 2011, Allison about race and class.” terim publisher and lead the search for has taught photography and video As managing editor of The Texas Ob- the Reporter’s new leader. to middle school and high school server, a nonprofit, investigative news Richardson will leverage the Report- students from the city’s South and journal, Richardson developed an award- er’s digital plan, its talented staff, media West sides. She is working on an winning culture section that explored partnerships, and other assets to grow independent multimedia project, the intersection of popular culture, poli- and enhance the operation. “Graduation,” which examines youth tics and social change. As public educa- violence in Chicago. tion editor at the Chicago Tribune, she In other news: In September, they will begin a directed a series that galvanized com- On Aug. 3, the Reporter received a nine-month fellowship, producing munity action around the rising homi- National Association of Black Jour- print and online photography for the cide rate among Chicago’s youth. nalists’ “Salute to Excellence” award Reporter, as well as videos and multi- At the Austin American-Statesman, during the association’s annual con- media presentations. she wrote a series of columns on the vention. It was honored for “Abusing The fine photography of the Re- gentrification of African-American and the Badge,” an investigation by Re- porter’s June exhibit, “Issues Visu- Latino communities. porter Angela Caputo, Interim Edi- alized,” is now on sale. The original Richardson has also worked in higher tor Rui Kaneya, and Intern Yisrael work of former photojournalism education, recently serving as a research Shapiro. Published in May 2012, the fellows Jonathan Gibby and Lucio fellow at the Bernard and Audre Rapo- story took the top prize in the inves- Villa can be viewed and purchased port Center for Human Rights and Jus- tigative reporting category for maga- online at affordable prices. Go to: tice at the University of Texas School of zines under 1 million circulation. www.chicagoreporter.com/issues- Law. From 2007 to 2011, she was a senior The Reporter’s recent cover story has visualized. WWW.CHICAGOREPORTER.COM | THE CHICAGO REPORTER 3 Q & A Nelson Soza Between 2000 and 2010, 100,000 Mexican residents left Pilsen, says Nelson Soza, a community organizer. “When you displace people without giving them the tools to be able to succeed in society, when you’re just hiding poverty instead of fixing it, I think that we’re lying to ourselves,” he says. Photo by Juan Antonio Labreche. Displacement buster An organizer empowers Pilsen residents to stave off gentrification By Deysi Cuevas Giveen’s story is a famil- iar one in Pilsen, where many More online low-income residents have Visit chicagoreporter.com uke Giveen is afraid that he will soon be priced out of been forced to move out as to watch a video about Pilsen. the neighborhood has grown gentrification in Pilsen. L For the past year, the 22-year-old has lived in an popular for its proximity to apartment building near the corner of 17th Street and Racine Chicago’s downtown. Avenue. He earns just enough as a freelance bike mechanic to This is why Giveen reached out to the Pilsen Alliance, which cover the $500 monthly rent for his two-bedroom apartment. works to fight such displacement. Nelson Soza, the nonprofit But Giveen has recently noticed potential investors and real community organization’s executive director, explained that estate agents visiting his Southwest Side building. If the own- Giveen’s building, like many others in the community, badly ership changes, a price hike could be on the horizon, he fears. needs maintenance. It needs plumbing repairs and pest exter- He knows all too well that such a scenario has played out at mination.