by Lise Olsen, The Houston Chronicle Special for the 2013 Specialized Reporting Institute on Immigration Reform http://immigrationreportingworkshop2013.borderzine.com/

1. Where to find border and immigration data
CONTACTS,STRATEGIESAND RESOURCES
Lise Olsen, Investigative Reporter,
TheHoustonChronicle Twitter @chrondigger
UnitedStates governmentsitesand official data:
U.S. Immigrationand CitizensServices (formerlythe INS) website http://uscis.gov/graphics/index.htm
Mediacontacts, pressreleases,of course, lookunderreportsandstudiesforreportsandstatsor file
FOIAsviacontacts fordistrictofficesnationwideandoverseas.
Department of HomelandSecurityYearbook of ImmigrationStatisticsprovidesinformationon
naturalizations,refugeesthatcanbe analyzedbyport of entry,state of intendedresident,etc.Details
can be FOIAedviaUSCISor HomelandSecurityandrequestedinExcel format.
Tons of data: http://www.dhs.gov/yearbook-immigration-statistics;http://www.dhs.gov/immigration-
statistics-publications;http://www.dhs.gov/immigration-statistics
Immigration and CustomsEnforcement(ICE,also knownas Homeland SecurityInvestigations)
http://www.ice.gov/about/offices/homeland-security-investigations/ ICEhasdataon
deportations/removals: http://www.ice.gov/removal-statistics/
Secure communitydata– and much more inFOIA readingarea of ICE website:
http://www.ice.gov/doclib/foia/sc-stats/nationwide_interop_stats-fy2013-to-date.pdf
http://www.ice.gov/foia/library/
Border Patrol – US Customsand BorderProtection,linkstospokesmenandlocal office
phones: http://cbp.gov/
Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse http://trac.syr.edu/
A non-profitthathassuccessfullysuedthe U.S.Justice Departmentfortonsof data and makesit
available toreportersandresearchers.Some of itisfree,the restyougetfor a subscriptionfee.The ICE
and USA (U.S.attorney) prosecutionstoolsallow youtoquicklycheckoutyourregion'sfederal
enforcementefforts,spotrecenttrendsandcompare themtootherregions/states.There isa whole
sectiononimmigrationcourts.
Try it out – here’sa linktothe immigrationcourtbacklogtool:
http://trac.syr.edu/phptools/immigration/court_backlog/

2. The Executive Office of Immigration Review(EOIR) of the Departmentof Justice
http://www.usdoj.gov/eoir/ Itoverseesthe immigrationcourts(whicharen’tpartof the ICE, though
theyare part of the Departmentof Justice).Immigration courthearingsare generallyopen,butrecords
are not. Reportson complaintson immigrationjudges, sanctionedlawyers, courtlocations,are
available,more availableviaFOIA.
US Departmentof State –http://www.state.gov/ Alertsandadvisories,contactsatembassiesand
consulatesworldwide. Visadata/statistics are here:
http://travel.state.gov/visa/statistics/statistics_1476.html
Its reportsoncountriesare here. http://www.state.gov/misc/list/index.htm;Reportsonhuman
traffickinginvariouscountriesare here: http://www.state.gov/j/tip/rls/tiprpt/2013/
The State Department'sindexofDeaths ofAmericans Abroad data online – accidents,murders,
suicide bycountrybyyear: http://travel.state.gov/law/family_issues/death/death_600.html
Travel and Tourism data and stats – via the US Office of Travel & TourismIndustries:
http://tinet.ita.doc.gov/International travelersinthe USand travelersfrom the US abroad.
Border crossing data at RITA – the ResearchandInnovative TechnologyAdministration:youcando your
ownquerieshere andcompare anddownloaddataat differentportsof entry.Kindof slow.
http://transborder.bts.gov/programs/international/transborder/TBDR_BC/TBDR_BC_Index.html
Links to the Federal Court websites http://www.uscourts.gov/
These include federal district,appealsandbankruptcycourts.Youcan search federal courtcasesfor
defendants’namesorcompanynamesnationwide andalsosearchbystatute (i.e.withthe code number
for illegal re-entry,humantrafficking,smuggling orotherimmigration-relatedcodes).Itmakessense to
getto knowthe federal prosecutorandfederal publicdefenderinyourareawhohandle immigration
issues. Getanaccount and access court recordsforpenniesapage – and view case activityandget
attorneys’names,phonesande-mailsforfree:https://pacer.login.uscourts.gov/cgi-
bin/login.pl?court_id=00idx
US Congress– MembersofCongress,theirstaff andcommittee chairmeninbothMexicoand
the US congressare keycontacts for reporters. Findthe listof the membersof the Senate’simmigration
subcommittee at:http://judiciary.senate.gov/about/subcommittees/immigration.cfm Membersof
congresscan assistwithgettinginformationonindividualcases,orstatistics orreports. You can use the
service Thomastokeepupwithbills:http://thomas.loc.gov.
US Censusbureau: For informationonborderpopulationtrends,languagesspoken,changesin
Mexican-bornorall Foreignbornpopulationonall cities,places,counties,states,townsandthe US as a
whole. http://www.census.gov/
FBI Offices–Each office hasa pressofficeranda searchable archive of pressreleases. Use advanced
Google searchestosearchby topicand signup for alerts. http://www.fbi.gov/contact/fo/fo.htm The FBI

3. isalso the bestsource of crime statisticsforall borderstates andcities(thoughstate governments and
individualcitieshave them too.)
Border state governments:U.S.borderstates: Texas,Arizona,California, New Mexico andAGoffices.
Mexicanborder states: Tamaulipas,NuevoLeón,Chihuahua, Coahuila,SonoraandBaja
CaliforniaNorte. Eachstate hasits ownwebpage and“portal”for publicrecords – “transparencia”
Each state also has a Procurador General de Justicia del Estado – PGJE inMexicoor State’sAttorney
General inthe US. Contact informationande-mailsonborderstate webpages.
Frontera List and relatedlinks – collectedand updated by MollyMolloy,an author and researcherat
NewMexicoState University:http://lib.nmsu.edu/subject/bord/laguia/
MollyMolloyalso runs one of the bestborderlist-serves(inEnglish).Toreceive it,e-mail herat
mailto:mollymolloy@gmail.com Now available onsocial mediatoo.
GobiernoMexicano(enespañol)
Mexico’snewpresidentchangedmanyWebsitenames andtookdownseveral portals. Eachbylawhas
“transparencia”linkforpublicinformationrequestsandinfo. Mosthave pressreleases. There’sa
collectionof linkshere: http://www.mexonline.com/mexagncy.htm inEnglish.
Mexico’sstate department, (Secretariade RelacionesExteriores) http://www.sre.gob.mx/
Instituto Federal de Acceso a la Información Pública(IFAI) MexicanFreedomof InformationAct
information,sample letters,explanationof the law anddatabase of requests.Youdon’thave to be a
citizentouse it andcan registerunderyourownname or underMickeyMouse if youwant.
http://www.ifai.org.mx/
https://www.infomex.org.mx/gobiernofederal/home.action
Compranet – informationaboutfederalcontractsin Mexicohttp://web.compranet.gob.mx/
Senado y Camara de Diputados: Justlike withthe US Congress,Mexicancongressmenonkey
comisiones (committees) aswell astheirstaffsare excellentsourcesforstories. Senate:
http://www.senado.gob.mx/ Listade comisiones http://www.senado.gob.mx/assets/com.pdf
Camara de diputados: http://www.cddhcu.gob.mx/
Procurador General de la Republica(PGR – the MexicanAttorneyGeneral/Departmentof Justice).
OffersaMexicanpointof viewof binational crime viaspokespersonandpressreleases. Hasanextensive
archive of pressrelasesandsummariesof storesfromaroundthe RépublicaMéxicana.
http://www.pgr.gob.mx/
Semefo– ServicioMédicoForense isMexico’snational medical examinernetwork,thoughnotall big
citieshave offices(justlikesome placesinthe USrelyon Coroners.) Onlysome sitesare online.

4. Mexico’sINEGI– Censusbureauandso much more.The motherlode of statisticsandofficial
information. http://www.inegi.gob.mx/inegi/default.aspx
Mexicannon-profitswith great infoand archives:
Instituto Ciudadanode Estudiossobre la inseguridad
http://www.icesi.org.mx/publicaciones/comunicados/conferencia_situacion_mundial_delincuencia.asp
Thisis the bestsite byfar for Mexicancrime statisticsandforcitizens’surveydataoncrime – very
interestinginformation.
Centerfor Border Students and Promotionof Human Rights(CEFPRODHAC) –a non-profitwithagreat
archive onhuman rightsissuesonthe border – includingstatistics,complaintsandarchivesfromall
across the border.Howeveritswebsite isnotas reliable asitwasinprior years. Based
inReynosa.http://www.derechoshumanosenmexico.org/
Key journalismwebsites:Manyother news sites exist,but these are some ofthe oldestand most
reliableand offerinvestigativestories from El Paso to the Pacific.
Tijuana/BajaCalifornia/SanDiego:
TijuanaPresshttp://www.tijuanapress.com/
AFNThttp://afntijuana.info/blog/
Zeta:www.zetatijuana.com
Fronterahttp://www.frontera.info/Home.aspx
Crónicade Baja California–http://www.lacronica.com/ (sisterpapertoFronteraandto El Imparcial
inHermosillo)
San DiegoUnion http://www.signonsandiego.com/ Follow borderreporterSandraDibble onTwitter.
Juarez/El Paso:
El Diariode Juarez http://www.diario.com.mx/ (has sisterpapersinChihuahuaandinEl Paso)
La Polaka- http://lapolaka.com/
El PasoTimes:http://www.elpasotimes.com/
Arizona/Sonora:
El Imparcial http://www.elimparcial.com/
NPR’SFronteras’Desk: http://www.fronterasdesk.org/
Fronteras’Az reporterMichel Marizco blogsat http://borderreporter.com/

5. ArizonaDailyStar;http://azstarnet.com/ Anditsdatabase of border
deaths:http://regulus.azstarnet.com/borderdeaths/
General border:
Narconewsblog:http://www.narconews.com/
FronteraNorteSuranothercompilationsite of U.S. MexicoBorderNews
http://www.nmsu.edu/~frontera/
National and border newscoverage:
El Universal –Mexico’slargestdailywithahuge archive of storiesthatis free.
http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/noticias.html
La Jornada–a smallerbutimportantMexicoCity-baseddailywithafree searchablearchive.
http://www.jornada.unam.mx/ultimas/
LA Times:http://www.latimes.com/
Journalismorganizations:
Investigative Reportersand Editors – www.ire.org IREenespañol
http://www.ire.org/esp/index.html
Sala de Prensa
http://www.saladeprensa.org/
Centrode PeriodismoyÉticaPública – MéxicoA journalists’listservandwebsite withpublicinformation
and informationonattacksonjournalists http://www.cepet.org/
Periodistasde A Pie –an organizationhelpingjournalistswhocoverviolence inMexico.
http://www.periodistasdeapie.org.mx/
SociedadInteramericana de Prensa:An associationof editorsandpublishersinthe Americasthat
monitorsandprovideshelpafterattacksonjournalistsandlobbiesforbetterpresslaws.(Spanishand
English) http://www.sipiapa.com/espanol/projects/chapul-presslaws.cfm
Knight Centerfor Journalismin the Americas– Newsletterinthree languages,freeandinexpensive
webseminarsande-booksaswell asevents. http://knightcenter.utexas.edu/
Internacional Centerfor Journalists: infoondatajournalism, FOIA lawsandtoolsworldwide.
http://www.ijnet.org/Director.aspx?P=Home&LID=2
Lawyers/Abogados:

6. American ImmigrationLawyers Association http://www.aila.org/ PIO:202-216-2404 Askwhoare AILA
membersorboard membersinyourarea.AILA alsohas pressreleasesonnational issuesontheir
website.
The AmericanBar Association’sCommissionon
Immigrationhttp://www.abanet.org/publicserv/immigration/home.html Tel:(202) 662-1698 The ABA is
a good source of informationforkeepingupwithissuesandforfindinggroupswhohandle immigration
casesin yourstate.
The ACLU’sImmigrant Rights Page Amongotherthings,there are copiesof key federal courtdecisions,
as well asupdateson federal legislationaswell asimmigrationgroupsall overthe U.S. at this
page:http://www.aclu.org/immigrants/gen/11649res20020219.html
Think Tanks/Experts:
NOTE: Manyborder universitieshave special studyprograms andgreat experts… way too manyfor
one list.
PewResearch Centerhas become one of the bestsitestofindcredible immigrationstudiesanddata.
http://www.pewresearch.org/topics/immigration/
Pew’sHispanicTrendsprojectishere: http://www.pewhispanic.org/
Centerfor Immigration Studies Thisisa conservative thinktank thatadvocatesforlimitson
immigration.Itoffers researchandpolicyanalysisof immigration-relatedissues.Amongotherthings,
the CIS has a mailinglistthatletsyoustayon topof whateveryone else iswritingaboutimmigration
issues,fromthe smallestborderpaperstothe New YorkTimes.
http://www.cis.org/immigrationnews.html linkforjoiningthe mailinglist.
Federationfor ImmigrationReform http://www.fairus.org/ Tel:(202) 328-7004
An organizationthatarguesthe US has toomany immigrantsandproposesreforms. Amongother
things,the site hasstate-by-stateprofilesandnewsreleases.
International Human Rights organizations:
Human RightsWatch http://www.hrw.org/ - English
AmnestyInternational: http://www.amnesty.org/en/contact/663
MexicanHuman Rights organizations
There are manyotherwell-knownhumanRightsorganizationsin Mexico:Fora fairly complete list Red
Nacional de OrganismosCivilesde
Derechos Humanos website: http://www.redtdt.org.mx/enlaces.php

7. Thiswebsite offersanotherevenlongerlistof NGOsinall Mexicanstates
http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/research/mexico-ngos.html