Who are we?
The Chicago Journalists LDF NFP was created in 2025 by a group of Chicago-area journalists.
The purpose of the Fund is to help pay for emergency legal representation for journalists based in the Chicago-area who are detained/arrested when reporting on immigration enforcement or for journalists whose detention/arrest stems from their journalism. The fund prioritizes cases of non-citizen journalists who work for small news organizations.
The fund can help pay for:
Guidance calls: A one-time guidance call for journalists who cover immigration with an immigration attorney.
Emergency assistance: To help support legal defense costs of journalists detained/arrested in the course of reporting or as a result of their work. The fund has a $15,000 cap per journalist. The cap is not guaranteed and it might vary depending on the available funds. Once the cap is met, the Fund may help pay for a transition period while the reporter’s news organization raises funds to fully support their journalist’s legal defense. Freelance journalists can also submit a request for additional support.
Request funding for a one-time guidance-call with an immigration attorney.
We’ll respond within 24 hours. Don’t want to fill out the form? You can schedule a call by sending an email to ChicagoJournalistsLDF [at] proton [dot] me. You can also email us the answers to the questions in the form.
Request Emergency Legal Defense Funds
Don’t want to fill out a form? Email us to schedule a call.