Chicago Student Journalists Innovate with Interactive Map Tracking ICE Sightings

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CHICAGO – The presence of federal immigration enforcement agents has noticeably increased across Chicago, prompting local communities to implement whistle-blowing strategies to alert residents. This surge comes as part of an ongoing operation that has resulted in over 2,700 arrests since it began in early September.

In the diverse North Side neighborhood of Rogers Park, the number of agents seen has risen significantly in recent weeks. In response, the editorial team at Loyola University’s student newspaper took action by creating an interactive map to track and share reports of agent sightings.

The Loyola Phoenix, which recently experienced a surge in web traffic following the passing of the university’s cherished 106-year-old basketball chaplain, Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt, has drawn even more visitors due to its regularly updated map of confirmed agent appearances.

Lilli Malone, the editor-in-chief of the newspaper, mentioned that even prior to the launch of Operation Midway Blitz on September 8, Loyola students were already expecting a federal presence in Rogers Park due to its large immigrant community.

The situation intensified when a video emerged showing several federal vehicles stationed behind a Loyola dormitory, with officers interacting with approximately 10 residents of Rogers Park. This prompted students to capture such interactions on their phones from their dorm windows. The heightened federal activity has instilled fear among some students, leading them to stay indoors for extended periods, according to the newspaper’s editors.

Loyola Phoenix Managing Editor Julia Pentasuglio, left, and Editor-In-Chief Lilli Malone, right, have made the ICE sighting map a passion project for the student newspaper. (Photo courtesy of The Loyola Phoenix)

“That’s when we sort of really realized that the fight had come to our backyard,” Malone, a Loyola senior, said.

The Phoenix operates independently of the university and only relies on its faculty adviser, Katie Drews, for guidance. That requires Malone and managing editor Julia Pentasuglio to walk a fine line between being students and journalists chronicling student life, which Malone said is a full-time job with school on the side.

Although the newspaper’s job is to inform students of what is happening around campus and the larger community, Malone said the paper never attempts to shape what students do with the information provided within the Phoenix’s pages.

The map is designed to be a source of information, which is vetted for accuracy and updated to include pertinent information.

Yet, with a staff of 13 editors and a collection of writers and reporters, staying on top of such a vital issue has presented challenges, Pentasuglio said. The editors knew that devoting a story to every confirmed ICE sighting wasn’t possible, which led to the creation of the interactive map.

How the Loyola Phoenix collects and vets possible ICE sightings

Reported ICE sightings are sent to Malone and Pentasuglio by text message, which arrive on their personal cell phones. The two editors say they didn’t feel right about putting the safety of its volunteer writers into jeopardy by sending them to investigate reported sightings or encounters between federal officers and those being encountered or detained.

Instead, The Phoenix created a database of sightings, which are all required to include timestamps and video proof to be added to the map. Each sighting goes through Malone and Pentasuglio, while other staffers monitor various social media platforms looking for video of federal officer sightings.

Police confront demonstrators during a protest outside of the immigration processing and detention facility on October 11 in Broadview, Illinois. Demonstrations have been taking place outside of the facility for several weeks as the Trump administration’s Operation Midway Blitz has been underway, arresting and detaining immigrants in the Chicago area. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Pentasuglio has joined several of the Signal chats that are hosted by local elected officials. As part of the verification process, she says she asks tipsters follow-up questions and then runs tips through other sources who are monitoring ICE activity in the area.

This week, the newspaper received multiple reports of a federal vehicle in the area and used various photos and videos of the vehicle and its license plate to determine it was the same vehicle. The photos and videos showed multiple people in the car, while others showed those agents wearing masks, full military gear and carrying weapons.

The paper makes it clear that editors verify information to the best of their abilities and information included in the map is constantly updated or corrected if needed. Each verified sighting is marked on the map with a digital pin, providing insight into areas around Loyola’s campus where federal immigration enforcement efforts are ongoing.

Pentasuglio says each pin means an incident that has “highly, highly tangible effects on people, which are really upsetting to see.”

Mapping ICE sightings requires student editors to split time, responsibilities

Mapping the sightings has proven labor-intensive for the two editors, who maintain a full class schedule and who are balancing their journalistic efforts with midterms, assigned essays and other projects. Malone and Pentasuglio will split the duties of maintaining and updating the map with their respective academic responsibilities.

Loyola University in Chicago, Illinois on September 30, 1981. (Photo by Jim Steinfeldt/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)

Through The Phoenix’s reporting, Malone and Pentasuglio have been able to develop patterns of federal officers, who have continued to spread around the Chicago area during the ongoing enforcement effort. The sightings come in waves, and after recently going three days without a tip, eight were reported in one day this week.

Often trading off map-minding duties depending on their class schedule, Malone and Pentasuglio know that timeliness is needed to keep users engaged. Malone, who was originally apprehensive about how much traffic the map would generate, acknowledges the project requires more of her time than first anticipated.

Despite warnings from the Trump administration and Department of Homeland Security officials against services that provide specific locations of federal officers, Malone and Pentasuglio feel compelled to provide this service to the university community. Their efforts have been recognized by Chicago Alderwoman Maria Hadden, who has shared the map on her social media platforms.

An ICE spokesperson did not respond directly to questions from about efforts to identify officer sightings.

Illinois State Sen. Mike Simmons, a Democrat whose district includes Rogers Park, routinely posts on social media, praising the efforts of residents who are keeping their communities aware of federal agents. He included the Loyola student journalists in that group.

“I am proud to see students and local groups across the far North Side standing up to ICE and keeping our communities informed with grassroots efforts and rapid response work,” Simmons told . “ICE is totally out of control.” Simmons added that if elected to represent Illinois’ 9th Congressional district, he plans to introduce legislation to abolish ICE.

The Phoenix has also shared the map on its own social platforms, including Instagram, which has gotten more than 1 million views over the past month, partly due to the response to the ICE map along with stories about Sister Jean’s recent passing, Pentasuglio said.

Despite the work that the map requires, both editors are committed to maintaining it as long as is needed. Pentasuglio considers herself a self-proclaimed “journalism nerd” and has been inspired by reporters across the city continuing the work on the front lines of the ongoing federal presence.

“This feels almost like the least that we can do as student journalists to join that fight and get this reporting out there to the public,” she told .

Malone added, “All we want to do at The Phoenix is serve the community and give them the information they need. So to see people on the receiving end of that being appreciative is great and to see the difference it has made is important.”