Mass detention operations by immigration agents over the last year have taken immigration from what was largely a national political issue to one that is deeply felt in communities of all sizes throughout the country.
In that time, news outlets have told countless human stories about migrant life in America, about detainment and about the justice system. But within and alongside those human stories, data journalists have worked overtime to crunch the official facts and figures as well as streams of information coming from the public and fellow journalists. The numbers of detainees; where, when, why, how and by whom they were detained; who they are and what happened to them.
The information can be fluid and opaque, making it more difficult to extract meaningful patterns and delve beneath broad, aggregate data. But with the launch of ICEtracking.org late last month from Evident Media, journalists have a new resource that parses and organizes a wide range of information about mass detentions. In the form of a visually striking and carefully sourced database, it offers the fundamental numbers, such as more than 68,000 people currently detained, 73% with no criminal record and 5% with violent criminal convictions.
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