How CO Migrahack will bring community and media together to deepen understanding of immigration
Sep 2 · 7 min read
Immigrants in the U.S. say that they feel misunderstood. They speak of fears and struggles with depression due to government policies that they believe ignore and overlook the plight of immigrants. They are frustrated that false myths about immigration seem to be so persistent and pervasive and that some are actively fomenting anti-immigrant sentiment. And while much recent news coverage of U.S. immigration has been largely sympathetic, they lament the fact that some media commentators continue to traffic in outdated stereotypes.
As a journalism professor who works with those in the profession, I know many journalists who wish that this situation were different, and who are working hard to address the problems related to lack of awareness and confusion about the impacts of immigration policies.
But today’s local journalists are under pressure for resources to meet these challenges. First, there are fewer of them on the beat to do all the hard work of reporting: 2019 has seen unprecedented media layoffs across the nation. Second, they may lack technical skills to crunch large data sets or know how to create multi-media projects.
This is why in Colorado, in partnership with the Colorado Media Project, we’re experimenting with the protocol of a Migrahack, first designed by Los Angeles Times journalist Claudia Nunez. The Migrahack is designed to improve collaboration among those concerned about the current situation while enhancing community engaged efforts in the sharing of fact-based information.
Journalists need to have the space to develop relationships with members of communities of which they are not a part: not instrumental but authentic, real relationships. And members of community organizations may need to set skepticism aside and openly work to get to know the journalists, data scientists, and others who express interest in them and in their work.
On September 27 and 28, members of Colorado’s immigrant communities and experts who serve them will come together with professional journalists, technical experts, and faculty, staff, and students from several Colorado universities to explore ways to deepen reporting on immigration.
Consider the viewpoint of Gabriela Flora, who is program director of the Denver AFSC, a not-for-profit organization that works with communities to foster diversity, inclusion and equity. She’d like to see journalists report on how government policies affect the day-to-day lives of immigrants. For example, she says, “Immigrant leaders from around the state worked to end Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainers in Colorado, and have identified ending notifications as the next critical step in creating community safety.” ICE requests notification from law enforcement agencies and courts when they are releasing someone from jail, including for such minor offenses as traffic violations.
Flora wants stories that help the public understand the ways notifications have become a source of fear among immigrants. “How do notifications affect people when they’re taking their kids to school?” she asks. “When local law enforcement engages in notifications, the community conflates them with ICE. How does this impact our communities? How can we track the treatment industrial complex and the criminalization of people, and the corporations that are profiting from this?”
Flora also believes, however, that “we also need stories of agency and resilience” that highlight how immigrants improve our communities. Such stories provide hope and also reflect the lived experiences of immigration, she says. Organizations and individuals working with immigrant communities have many stories to share, but often do not have access to media outlets. And at the same time, journalists lack sufficient sources among members of recent immigrant communities.
Not that all information must flow from professional journalists, and at Migrahack we welcome all who are interested in providing factual information to the public. Many members of immigrant communities are already engaged in the work of informing their communities through language-specific media as well as through less formal channels such as via local radio programs, newsletters, and flyers on community and neighborhood bulletin boards. And many members of immigrant communities work and study in universities.
“The Migrahack is a wonderful opportunity for those students, faculty and staff who have lived experiences with immigration to share their experiences, as the university and its partners create the space for the sharing of those stories more broadly,” says Lisa Martinez, Migrahack co-organizer, and professor of sociology and interim director of the University of Denver Latino Center.
“I joined the Migrahack team because I feel this event gives students and community members a chance to write the narratives we feel best represent the issue of immigration in our state,” says Isaac Vargas, a University of Denver student who is serving as student coordinator of the Migrahack. “It gives us ownership over the immigration narrative that shapes the community that I, and many others, belong to,” he says. It’s also a great opportunity to learn and network alongside professionals that are in the field every day in our state, he says.
Journalists need to have the space to develop relationships with members of communities of which they are not a part: not instrumental but authentic, real relationships. And members of community organizations may need to set skepticism aside and openly work to get to know the journalists, data scientists, and others who express interest in them and in their work.
Registration is open for the Colorado Migrahack between now and September 20. The event is free for participants. Those registering to be on a team are asked about their skills, expertise, and lived experience so that they can be partnered with those who have different skill sets to maximize the event’s impact. Teams complete their projects by Saturday September 28 at 5 PM, when the Migrahack concludes with a sharing of multimedia projects and a celebration and tasting with renowned borderlands chef Adan Medrano, author of Don’t Count the Tortillas and Truly Texas Mexican.
Community members can attend parts of the entire event, but they are asked to commit blocks of time to participating in teams if they can. For those community members who can only attend on Friday afternoon September 27, from 4:00–6:00, there’s a community roundtable featuring those with expertise on immigration and there will be opportunities to hear about and have direct input into stories that are being developed. Register for that here.
Those who work with or are members of immigrant, refugee, and asylum seeking community members are invited to attend a free community breakfast to advance Migrahack plans on Wednesday, September 11 from 9:00–11:00 AM at Sun Valley Kitchen, 1260 Decatur Street in Denver. RSVP to mfjs@DU.edu.
As a Migrahack organizer, I hope this will be the first of many such efforts that local universities can organize to bring such groups into relationships with the media in order to strengthen our communities — and our democracy.
Lynn Schofield Clark is professor and chair of the Department of Media, Film and Journalism Studies at the University of Denver and higher education liaison for the Colorado Media Project. She is one of the organizers of the 2019 Colorado Migrahack (#MigrahackCO or #ColoradoMigrahack) and is author, with Regina Marchi, of Young People and the Future of News (Cambridge University Press, 2017), which features stories of young immigrants to the U.S. who discuss their experiences as newcomers to news and politics.
