Inside the Dystopia of Covering Immigration
Two reporters, no staff, no safety net, one beat: covering the unraveling of America’s immigration soul in real time.
WASHINGTON — We cover this beat together. Pablo and I. Different work, same mission.
He’s been in D.C. nearly two decades. Knows everyone—Senate cafeteria workers, bar staff at Tune Inn, old press wranglers who’ve seen administrations come and go. Pablo pulls stories out of group chats, encrypted apps, private message threads. Immigration lawyers, detention monitors, past and current ICE agents. When something big happens—a raid, a deportation, a leak—people call him first. Somehow, they always do.
He found the Gitmo deportees before anyone else. He knew where they were being sent, who they were, what their families were doing to stop it. He doesn’t sleep much. Texts come in at midnight, early morning. Tweets flagged, screenshots saved, numbers called. Pablo doesn’t just cover immigration; he lives inside it.
In his off time, he paints. Tells me random facts from documentaries. Stuff about the Bronze Age or obscur…