Melissa Sanchez
@melissa-sanchez.bsky.social
Reporter at @ProPublica.org interested in immigration and labor. Based in Chicago. Also a fan of parenting memes.
Pinned
“I Lost Everything”: Venezuelans Were Rounded Up in a Dramatic Midnight Raid but Never Charged With a Crime
Authorities said Tren de Aragua “terrorists” had taken over the building. A ProPublica investigation found little evidence to back up the government’s claims. For the first time, the Venezuelans arres...
www.propublica.org
You probably saw videos of a nighttime raid in Chicago. Agents rappelling from a helicopter, bursting down doors, questioning brown-skinned immigrants.
We investigated -- and found little evidence to support the government’s claims about Tren de Aragua.
www.propublica.org/article/chic...
We investigated -- and found little evidence to support the government’s claims about Tren de Aragua.
www.propublica.org/article/chic...
Reposted by Melissa Sanchez
1/ It should be forgiven. It should be forgotten. If she spoke of it again, the sins would be hers, she was told.
But she could never forget. And neither could the other girls.
This is the story of how her church enabled a child abuser for years 👇
[content warning: sexual abuse]
But she could never forget. And neither could the other girls.
This is the story of how her church enabled a child abuser for years 👇
[content warning: sexual abuse]
November 21, 2025 at 2:06 AM
1/ It should be forgiven. It should be forgotten. If she spoke of it again, the sins would be hers, she was told.
But she could never forget. And neither could the other girls.
This is the story of how her church enabled a child abuser for years 👇
[content warning: sexual abuse]
But she could never forget. And neither could the other girls.
This is the story of how her church enabled a child abuser for years 👇
[content warning: sexual abuse]
We updated this story to add that DHS acknowledges at least 4 of the Venezuelans detained in raid are a low public safety risk. A judge the. ordered them released. We were about to publish a story about this… then an appeals court stayed order. The men will remain in detention or may be deported
November 20, 2025 at 9:37 PM
We updated this story to add that DHS acknowledges at least 4 of the Venezuelans detained in raid are a low public safety risk. A judge the. ordered them released. We were about to publish a story about this… then an appeals court stayed order. The men will remain in detention or may be deported
Reposted by Melissa Sanchez
Reporter @melissa-sanchez.bsky.social speaks to @npr.org about @propublica.org's report on the South Shore Chicago apartment building raid.
www.npr.org/2025/11/18/n...
www.npr.org/2025/11/18/n...
ProPublica reporter on the high-profile raid of a Chicago apartment building
NPR's Leila Fadel speaks to ProPublica reporter Melissa Sanchez, who fact-checked the Trump administration's claims about a high-profile immigration raid in Chicago.
www.npr.org
November 18, 2025 at 3:50 PM
Reporter @melissa-sanchez.bsky.social speaks to @npr.org about @propublica.org's report on the South Shore Chicago apartment building raid.
www.npr.org/2025/11/18/n...
www.npr.org/2025/11/18/n...
1/ The night of the raid, Jonahyker López awoke to the sound of a helicopter over his building and federal agents yelling, “Open the door!” López told me he sat on the edge of his bed, wishing that his own door would become invisible. But the door came down and agents burst in. 🧵
November 17, 2025 at 5:36 PM
1/ The night of the raid, Jonahyker López awoke to the sound of a helicopter over his building and federal agents yelling, “Open the door!” López told me he sat on the edge of his bed, wishing that his own door would become invisible. But the door came down and agents burst in. 🧵
Reposted by Melissa Sanchez
16/ I hope you will read the full story. It was a team effort by @melissa-sanchez.bsky.social, @tchristianmiller.bsky.social @mariamelba.bsky.social, Sebastian Rotella, me and many more, part of a collaboration between @propublica.org/ @frontlinepbs.bsky.social
www.propublica.org/article/chic...
www.propublica.org/article/chic...
“I Lost Everything”: Venezuelans Were Rounded Up in a Dramatic Midnight Raid but Never Charged With a Crime
Authorities said Tren de Aragua “terrorists” had taken over the building. A ProPublica investigation found little evidence to back up the government’s claims. For the first time, the Venezuelans arres...
www.propublica.org
November 16, 2025 at 3:27 PM
16/ I hope you will read the full story. It was a team effort by @melissa-sanchez.bsky.social, @tchristianmiller.bsky.social @mariamelba.bsky.social, Sebastian Rotella, me and many more, part of a collaboration between @propublica.org/ @frontlinepbs.bsky.social
www.propublica.org/article/chic...
www.propublica.org/article/chic...
Reposted by Melissa Sanchez
15/ A Chicago judge decided the building was too unsafe. She appointed a new property manager and said the tenants should be relocated. All the people who lived at 7500 S. South Shore Drive when the raid began — immigrants and U.S. citizens — may soon be gone.
November 16, 2025 at 3:25 PM
15/ A Chicago judge decided the building was too unsafe. She appointed a new property manager and said the tenants should be relocated. All the people who lived at 7500 S. South Shore Drive when the raid began — immigrants and U.S. citizens — may soon be gone.
Reposted by Melissa Sanchez
14/ She was among the tenants who attended a recent online court hearing about the future of the building. Tenants and city inspectors described ongoing horrible conditions: mice and gnats, exposed wires, leaking pipes, squatters.
November 16, 2025 at 3:25 PM
14/ She was among the tenants who attended a recent online court hearing about the future of the building. Tenants and city inspectors described ongoing horrible conditions: mice and gnats, exposed wires, leaking pipes, squatters.
Reposted by Melissa Sanchez
12/ As for the U.S. citizens living in the building? Greg Bovino, the Border Patrol commander of the Chicago operation, said it would make their lives safer. But tenants told us that building conditions have only gotten worse.
November 16, 2025 at 3:24 PM
12/ As for the U.S. citizens living in the building? Greg Bovino, the Border Patrol commander of the Chicago operation, said it would make their lives safer. But tenants told us that building conditions have only gotten worse.
Reposted by Melissa Sanchez
13/ We met a woman living in a 3rd floor apartment whose legs are amputated. She relies on a wheelchair. The building elevators were broken — again — last week, and she said she is unable to leave the building. “I am trying to move out,” she said.
November 16, 2025 at 3:25 PM
13/ We met a woman living in a 3rd floor apartment whose legs are amputated. She relies on a wheelchair. The building elevators were broken — again — last week, and she said she is unable to leave the building. “I am trying to move out,” she said.
Reposted by Melissa Sanchez
11/ The Department of Homeland Security did not answer our questions about the raid. In a statement, it said the operation was “performed in full compliance of the law.”
November 16, 2025 at 3:23 PM
11/ The Department of Homeland Security did not answer our questions about the raid. In a statement, it said the operation was “performed in full compliance of the law.”
Reposted by Melissa Sanchez
10/ A woman and her three young daughters are in a shelter in Chicago while her husband is detained in Kentucky. She has been given a few months to get U.S. passports for two of her kids, who are citizens, before they leave the country.
November 16, 2025 at 3:22 PM
10/ A woman and her three young daughters are in a shelter in Chicago while her husband is detained in Kentucky. She has been given a few months to get U.S. passports for two of her kids, who are citizens, before they leave the country.
Reposted by Melissa Sanchez
9/ Some are now back in Venezuela. Others remain detained. Several have described being hungry, lonely and sick. At least one man has been diagnosed with tuberculosis since being locked up, his attorney told me this week.
November 16, 2025 at 3:22 PM
9/ Some are now back in Venezuela. Others remain detained. Several have described being hungry, lonely and sick. At least one man has been diagnosed with tuberculosis since being locked up, his attorney told me this week.
Reposted by Melissa Sanchez
8/ We have observed immigration court hearings for 8 of the men. Not once has a government attorney mentioned any pending criminal charges or membership in a gang. Judges have granted some voluntary departure — reserved for people not considered a safety threat.
November 16, 2025 at 3:22 PM
8/ We have observed immigration court hearings for 8 of the men. Not once has a government attorney mentioned any pending criminal charges or membership in a gang. Judges have granted some voluntary departure — reserved for people not considered a safety threat.
Reposted by Melissa Sanchez
7/ During a video call with Jean Carlos Antonio Colmenares Pérez, from a jail in Kentucky, he showed us the room where he was being held with other men. There were 10 sets of bunk beds and 2 toilets. One of the toilets didn’t work. Video from @frontlinepbs.bsky.social:
November 16, 2025 at 3:22 PM
7/ During a video call with Jean Carlos Antonio Colmenares Pérez, from a jail in Kentucky, he showed us the room where he was being held with other men. There were 10 sets of bunk beds and 2 toilets. One of the toilets didn’t work. Video from @frontlinepbs.bsky.social:
Reposted by Melissa Sanchez
6/ She spoke with Ludwing Jeanpier Parra Pérez, whom the government identified as a gang member. He denied it. Our review showed arrests for drug possession and driving w/o a license, charges that were dropped. “I’m very worried. I don’t know why they are saying that,” he said.
November 16, 2025 at 3:19 PM
6/ She spoke with Ludwing Jeanpier Parra Pérez, whom the government identified as a gang member. He denied it. Our review showed arrests for drug possession and driving w/o a license, charges that were dropped. “I’m very worried. I don’t know why they are saying that,” he said.
Reposted by Melissa Sanchez
5/ We sent letters to the men detained in Indiana and in Kentucky, where some were transferred. They began calling. Over the past few weeks, @propublica.org reporter @melissa-sanchez.bsky.social has communicated in Spanish with a dozen Venezuelans taken that night.
November 16, 2025 at 3:19 PM
5/ We sent letters to the men detained in Indiana and in Kentucky, where some were transferred. They began calling. Over the past few weeks, @propublica.org reporter @melissa-sanchez.bsky.social has communicated in Spanish with a dozen Venezuelans taken that night.
Reposted by Melissa Sanchez
4/ We learned that at least 17 men were bused to a county jail in Indiana — 3 ½ hours away. Records show they were booked by noon the day of the raid. The women and children were taken to an immigration processing center in suburban Chicago.
November 16, 2025 at 3:18 PM
4/ We learned that at least 17 men were bused to a county jail in Indiana — 3 ½ hours away. Records show they were booked by noon the day of the raid. The women and children were taken to an immigration processing center in suburban Chicago.
Reposted by Melissa Sanchez
3/ So far, we have identified 21 of them. That allowed us to examine their backgrounds and search for any criminal history. There are limitations to this kind of search because there is no universal database of charges or convictions, but this is what we found:
November 16, 2025 at 3:18 PM
3/ So far, we have identified 21 of them. That allowed us to examine their backgrounds and search for any criminal history. There are limitations to this kind of search because there is no universal database of charges or convictions, but this is what we found:
Reposted by Melissa Sanchez
2/ Their names were not made public, yet @dhsgov said it had detained terrorist gang members and called the operation a success. We @propublica.org set out to determine whether that was true. To do that, we needed to figure out who they were.
November 16, 2025 at 3:17 PM
2/ Their names were not made public, yet @dhsgov said it had detained terrorist gang members and called the operation a success. We @propublica.org set out to determine whether that was true. To do that, we needed to figure out who they were.
Reposted by Melissa Sanchez
1/ I’d like to share what’s happened since Sept. 30, the night of the most dramatic raid of the Trump administration’s Operation Midway Blitz in Chicago. Under the cover of darkness, 37 immigrants were taken from an apartment complex …🧵
November 16, 2025 at 3:17 PM
1/ I’d like to share what’s happened since Sept. 30, the night of the most dramatic raid of the Trump administration’s Operation Midway Blitz in Chicago. Under the cover of darkness, 37 immigrants were taken from an apartment complex …🧵
Reposted by Melissa Sanchez
NEW: We’ve uncovered the first known example of taxpayer money flowing from DHS to businesses controlled by Kristi Noem’s allies and friends.
It’s part of a money trail that’s been shrouded in secrecy—and involves $220 million, a mysterious Delaware LLC & a horse named Gill.
It’s part of a money trail that’s been shrouded in secrecy—and involves $220 million, a mysterious Delaware LLC & a horse named Gill.
November 14, 2025 at 12:20 PM
NEW: We’ve uncovered the first known example of taxpayer money flowing from DHS to businesses controlled by Kristi Noem’s allies and friends.
It’s part of a money trail that’s been shrouded in secrecy—and involves $220 million, a mysterious Delaware LLC & a horse named Gill.
It’s part of a money trail that’s been shrouded in secrecy—and involves $220 million, a mysterious Delaware LLC & a horse named Gill.
Reposted by Melissa Sanchez
We at @propublica.org looked into the immigration raid that happened in Chicago's South Shore in late September. We found many of the Venezuelans detained in that raid, looked into them, and spoke to several of them.
November 13, 2025 at 2:41 PM
We at @propublica.org looked into the immigration raid that happened in Chicago's South Shore in late September. We found many of the Venezuelans detained in that raid, looked into them, and spoke to several of them.
You probably saw videos of a nighttime raid in Chicago. Agents rappelling from a helicopter, bursting down doors, questioning brown-skinned immigrants.
We investigated -- and found little evidence to support the government’s claims about Tren de Aragua.
www.propublica.org/article/chic...
We investigated -- and found little evidence to support the government’s claims about Tren de Aragua.
www.propublica.org/article/chic...
“I Lost Everything”: Venezuelans Were Rounded Up in a Dramatic Midnight Raid but Never Charged With a Crime
Authorities said Tren de Aragua “terrorists” had taken over the building. A ProPublica investigation found little evidence to back up the government’s claims. For the first time, the Venezuelans arres...
www.propublica.org
November 13, 2025 at 1:28 PM
You probably saw videos of a nighttime raid in Chicago. Agents rappelling from a helicopter, bursting down doors, questioning brown-skinned immigrants.
We investigated -- and found little evidence to support the government’s claims about Tren de Aragua.
www.propublica.org/article/chic...
We investigated -- and found little evidence to support the government’s claims about Tren de Aragua.
www.propublica.org/article/chic...