Melissa Sanchez

Reporter

Photo of Melissa Sanchez

Melissa Sanchez is a reporter at ProPublica who focuses on immigrants and labor in the Midwest. After joining ProPublica in 2017, she led a project that examined Chicago’s punitive ticketing and debt collection system; that reporting helped prompt major reforms, including the cancellation of 55,000 driver’s license suspensions and millions of dollars in debt forgiveness. She was part of a team of reporters who examined conditions at shelters for unaccompanied immigrant children; some of that reporting was included in a ProPublica series on the impact of President Donald Trump’s zero-tolerance policy that was a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize.

Sanchez was also among the first reporters to document the growing number of Central American children and teenagers working in factories and food-processing facilities. Most recently, she and her colleague Maryam Jameel examined conditions for immigrant workers on Wisconsin dairy farms; that reporting prompted a federal civil rights investigation and led to the creation of an $8 million fund to build housing for farmworkers. The series was a finalist for an Anthony Shadid Award for Journalism Ethics, among other recognitions.

A graduate of Michigan State University, Sanchez has also worked for The Chicago Reporter, Catalyst Chicago, El Nuevo Herald in Miami and the Yakima Herald-Republic in Washington. She lives in Chicago with her husband and their two young children. She is the daughter of immigrants from Mexico and El Salvador, and she speaks Spanish.

She has experience handling sensitive sources, including people in vulnerable positions and confidential documents. She can be reached by phone, Signal or WhatsApp at 872-444-0011 or by email at [email protected].

Immigrants’ Resentment Over New Arrivals Helped Boost Trump’s Popularity With Latino Voters

Across the U.S., Latino immigrants who’ve been in the country a long time felt that asylum-seekers got preferential treatment. “Those of us who have been here for years get nothing,” said one woman from Mexico who has lived in Wisconsin for decades.

El jefe de policía y el inmigrante

Antes de que Springfield, Ohio, se convirtiera en un punto central en el debate sobre la inmigración, Trump instrumentalizó la solicitud de recursos de un jefe de policía para asegurar que Whitewater sufría una “invasión”. La verdad es más compleja.

What Happened in Whitewater

How immigration is affecting one small Wisconsin city.

What the Data Reveals About U.S. Immigration Ahead of the 2024 Election

Recent years have seen a big increase in migrants crossing the U.S. border. But that’s not the most significant change. It’s that many are coming from new countries and with more legal ways to be here. All this is shaping the 2024 election.

El Departamento de Justicia llega a un acuerdo con un Sheriff de Wisconsin para mejorar servicios para quienes no hablan inglés

Años después de que los agentes del Condado Dane culparan por error a un trabajador inmigrante por la muerte de su hijo en una granja lechera, la oficina del alguacil acordó reformas destinadas a garantizar que los residentes que hablan inglés limitado puedan obtener los servicios necesarios.

DOJ Reaches Agreement With Wisconsin Sheriff’s Office to Improve Services for People Who Don’t Speak English

Years after deputies in Dane County, Wisconsin, mistakenly blamed an immigrant worker for his son’s death on a dairy farm, the sheriff’s office has agreed to reforms meant to ensure that residents who speak limited English can get needed services.

¿Qué hago si me lesiono en el trabajo en una granja de Wisconsin?

Esta guía explica sus derechos en ranchos grandes y pequeños. Se basa en entrevistas con abogados y otros expertos.

What You Need to Know If You’re Hurt While Working on a Wisconsin Dairy Farm

We spoke to lawyers, health care providers, government officials and others to help workers understand their rights if they’re injured on the job.

What ProPublica Is Doing About Diversity in 2024

Here is our annual report on the breakdown of our staff and how we’re working to create a more diverse news organization and more inclusive journalism community.

Help ProPublica Reporters Investigate the Immigration System

We need your help to find productive ways to examine the country’s immigration system — what’s working and what isn’t. We especially want to hear from federal workers, attorneys, employers, labor advocates and ESL teachers.

Cómo un incendio en una granja lechera nos llevó a escribir varias historias sobre los trabajadores de las granjas

La reportera de ProPublica Melissa Sanchez reflexiona sobre qué la llevó a investigar los muchos peligros e injusticias que enfrentan los trabajadores inmigrantes sin los cuales las granjas lecheras de Estados Unidos no funcionarían.

How a Fire on a Dairy Farm Led Us to More Than a Year’s Worth of Stories About Immigrant Dairy Workers

ProPublica reporter Melissa Sanchez reflects on what led her to investigate the many dangers and inequities faced by the immigrant workers without whom America’s dairy farms wouldn’t function.

Los trabajadores de las granjas lecheras a menudo aguantan viviendas precarias. La ley no los protege.

El fiscal de Minnesota reveló cómo los trabajadores de una granja lechera carecían de calefacción, plomería y tenían moho en sus viviendas. Estas condiciones son comunes, debido a que estos trabajadores son excluidos de muchas protecciones.

Immigrant Dairy Workers Often Endure Substandard Housing Conditions. The Law Doesn’t Protect Them.

Minnesota’s attorney general exposed conditions at one dairy farm where workers lacked heat and plumbing and dealt with mold in their homes. Housing like this is common on dairy farms, since dairy workers are excluded from many protections.

El Departamento de Justicia trabaja con un sheriff de Wisconsin para eliminar las barreras lingüísticas

Una investigación de ProPublica en el Condado de Dane de Wisconsin reveló cómo las barreras lingüísticas y los errores de una oficial la llevaron a culpar erróneamente a un obrero de una granja lechera por la muerte de su hijo.

The DOJ Is Working With a Wisconsin Sheriff to Improve How Deputies Communicate With People Who Don’t Speak English

A ProPublica investigation in Wisconsin’s Dane County revealed how a grammatical mistake in Spanish led sheriff’s deputies to wrongly blame a Nicaraguan dairy worker for his son’s death.

Cuando se lesionan, pocos inmigrantes que trabajan en las granjas lecheras reciben compensación laboral

La exención para granjas pequeñas de Wisconsin es una de las muchas exclusiones federales y estatales que históricamente han dejado a los trabajadores agrícolas—y de la industria lechera en particular—con menos derechos y protecciones que otros

When Immigrant Dairy Farm Workers Get Hurt, Most Can’t Rely on Workers’ Compensation

Wisconsin’s exemption for small farms is one of many federal and state carve-outs that have historically left farm workers — and dairy workers in particular — with fewer rights and protections than others.

“Una vez que ya no les sirves a ellos, te botan”

Los trabajadores inmigrantes son esenciales en la industria lechera de Wisconsin. Pero cuando se lesionan, frecuentemente son descartados.

“Once You’re No Good to Them, They Get Rid of You”

Immigrant workers are essential to Wisconsin’s dairy industry. But when they get injured, they’re often cast aside.

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