CHICAGO — Block Club’s team knows how confusing and fast immigration news is hitting Chicago as Operation Midway Blitz continues. So, in the hopes of simplifying the news for our readers, we’ve launched a WhatsApp channel to share Block Club’s daily recaps of ICE news and other breaking immigration news directly to your phone. 

On weekdays, newsletter intern Jake Cox, Newsletter Editor Hannah Boufford and other Block Club staff members will send daily updates and alerts to the channel as news breaks. You can also text us on WhatsApp at 312-860-0020 with questions, tips and feedback. 

You can follow the channel here. 

Block Club is working with City Bureau‘s translation lab to share immigration stories and WhatsApp alerts in Spanish with the aim of reaching Chicagoans who need the reporting most. Forty-six percent of Hispanic Americans report using WhatsApp on a daily basis, according to the Pew Research Center. 

“Block Club’s goal has always been to keep Chicagoans informed on what’s happening in their neighborhood and on their block,” Boufford said. “Our WhatsApp channel is the latest way we’re trying to make news accessible. We’re taking lessons we learned from our coronavirus hotline, our daily newsletters and our social media presence to reach our readers where they are.”

This project was supported by a grant from the Medill Midwest Solutions Journalism Lab, a research and development program designed to bolster the sustainability of local news in the Chicago area and beyond.

“These awards represent our commitment to nurturing solutions journalism at the grassroots level,” said Deborah Douglas, director of the Medill Midwest Solutions Journalism Hub and Medill senior lecturer. “By providing targeted resources to these innovative Chicago newsrooms, we’re not just funding stories — we’re investing in a fundamental shift in how journalism serves communities.”

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