海角大神

When Patricia Mercado S谩nchez was growing up in the central Mexican state of Zacatecas, from which many migrants to the United States hail, she was taught not to think much about those leaving for聽El Norte.听

鈥淭he saying went, if you left Mexico you gave up your seat,鈥� she says, explaining that it was seen as a rejection of home.听

Today, Mexican migrants are what keep Ms. Mercado S谩nchez up at night 鈥� and fill her days as the founder of a startup 鈥渟ervice news鈥� media company called聽Conexi贸n Migrante.听

Her home on a quiet block in a lush Mexico City neighborhood is buzzing with activity on a recent Friday afternoon. In the living room, visitors discuss web design and strategy. In the dining room, interns tap away at their laptops. At one point a shirtless 7-year-old wanders through the action, holding up a small plastic truck for all to admire.

This is ground zero for Ms. Mercado S谩nchez鈥檚 nearly 3-year-old project that publishes stories based on specific inquiries sent by migrants in the U.S. or their families in Mexico, via Facebook or the organization鈥檚 hotline. The questions 鈥� like how a Mexican parent of a migrant in the U.S. can get paperwork to visit their child, or how to get a U.S.-born baby his Mexican citizenship 鈥� are answered on Conexi贸n Migrante鈥檚 website, which has become a one-stop resource for millions of people with ties in both Mexico and the U.S.

鈥淲e realized Mexican migrants in the U.S. didn鈥檛 need general information like any old news site; they needed very, very specific information,鈥� Ms. Mercado S谩nchez says.听

She and her team of 10 investigate the questions and write straightforward articles and man a hotline to answer questions. For many, their work is critical: answering practical questions for migrants who may not be literate, who can鈥檛 take time off to visit a consulate, or who might be afraid to go to authorities, fearing deportation.听

Unwelcome everywhere聽

Ms. Mercado S谩nchez鈥檚 idea for this project came to her in 2007, during a journalism fellowship in northern California. After almost a decade as the editor-in-chief of Mexico鈥檚 leading financial newspaper, El Economista, her experience in the U.S. turned her image of Mexican migrants on its head.

There, she became active with Mexican immigrant communities in San Jose and studied migration to the U.S. at Stanford University.听

One conversation with a group of Mexicans in the U.S. triggered a flashback to her childhood. Her cousin, born in Los Angeles, once visited family in Zacatecas. She and her six siblings made fun of his Spanish, telling him he wasn鈥檛 Mexican. He cried while they laughed. Years later, she realized what was behind his tears: His family was telling him he wasn鈥檛 Mexican, while his peers in the U.S. told him he wasn鈥檛 American.听

Mexican migrants in the U.S. 鈥渁ren鈥檛 accepted by either country,鈥� she says. Flash forward to the lead-up to the 2016 U.S. presidential election, and the need for connection and understanding took on new importance.

鈥淚 felt like it was now or never,鈥� she says of launching Conexi贸n Migrante, which went live on Election Day.听

Today, Conexi贸n Migrante publishes three to five original stories per day. One article on birth certificates garnered more than 1 million page views within days of being posted, she recalls.听

The team receives between 300 and 500 phone calls a month and nearly double that in Facebook messages.听聽

鈥淚 worked [in financial journalism] for 15 years,鈥� says Ms. Mercado S谩nchez. 鈥淏ut I think this kind of journalism is more real. I鈥檓 closer to the people and the needs of people.鈥澛�

Getting answers聽

In 2017, Lucia Any Salazar, based in Ecuador, contacted the group to get answers about her brother who had gone missing after entering the U.S. Ms. Salazar was convinced he was one of the 10 migrants who suffocated in a tractor-trailer found in a Walmart parking lot that summer. 聽聽

Ms. Mercado S谩nchez wrote about the family鈥檚 story. Four months later, she received a call from someone at the Ecuadorian consulate looking for Ms. Salazar; her brother was the last body identified in the truck.

鈥淚 didn鈥檛 know where to start looking when Flabio went missing. Government offices in Quito said they couldn鈥檛 help me,鈥� Ms. Salazar recalls. 鈥淸Conexi贸n Migrante] published photos and information and knew how important their help could be to a family like mine,鈥� she says.

But not everyone is happy with the work Ms. Mercado S谩nchez is doing. 鈥淭he [negative] comments on our networks are few, but they tend to come from Mexican Americans in the U.S.,鈥� she says, explaining that migrants who are in the U.S. legally tend not to support undocumented migrants.听

That dynamic has inspired a recent grant-based initiative at聽Conexi贸n Migrante to create more connections between established legal migrants in the U.S., and more recent Mexican arrivals.听

Rebuilding trust聽聽

Ms. Mercado S谩nchez stands in her dining room doorway in front of her young team on a rainy afternoon. These biweekly gatherings are where calls or messages are discussed and assigned. They are also an opportunity to provide professional development to aspiring journalists.听

鈥淭here were a lot of typos in our posts yesterday,鈥� she says. 鈥淲e can鈥檛 have a single mistake.鈥�

Her staff, nearly all hired through a new government-paid internship program for people under 30, take furious notes. In addition to informing migrants, Ms. Mercado S谩nchez is running a reporter training program, providing her team with mentorship and access to online journalism courses.

She is also constantly looking for ways to make Conexi贸n Migrante sustainable. She鈥檚 sold web ads to Mexican states with large migrant populations, and was recently part of the inaugural group of grantees from New York University鈥檚 Membership Puzzle Project. Those funds will help research potential membership models for the site as well as establish an official call center.听

鈥淭here鈥檚 a huge trust issue in journalism right now,鈥� says Ariel Zirulnick, the fund director at Membership Puzzle Project. 鈥淧atricia is providing a bit of a playbook on how news organizations can 鈥� show up for vulnerable communities and empower them in the day to day.鈥澛犅�

Her staff agrees. 鈥淭he caravans and Trump have made migrants more visible in the news, but they鈥檙e still presented as one-dimensional,鈥� says Abel聽Dom铆nguez, Conexi贸n Migrante鈥檚 web editor.听

鈥淭his project gives migrants a voice and helps them realize they have rights. Some journalists do what they do to win awards or get clicks. Pati鈥檚 not here for that,鈥� he says.

鈥淪he鈥檚 dedicated to delivering a basic service. And it鈥檚 really helping people.鈥�

[Editor鈥檚 note: This story has been updated to clarify the Membership Puzzle Project鈥檚 business model.]