Laura Rodríguez Presa

Laura Rodríguez Presa is a bilingual journalist covering the Latino community in the Chicago area. Formerly a multimedia reporter for Hoy, the Tribune’s Spanish-language newspaper, Laura focused on exposing the often untold stories of the Latino community. She aims to write pieces that transcend language, race, age and gender barriers.

Venezuelans cross illegally into Colombia near the Simon Bolivar International Bridge, April 14, 2019, which is partially closed by Venezuelan authorities, seen from La Parada near Cucuta, Colombia. (Fernando Vergara/AP)

No passport. No flights. No easy way home for Venezuelans who want to leave Chicago.

April 10, 2026 at 4:20 p.m.

Countless Venezuelans want to return to their home country, but have been unable to because of broken diplomatic ties and bureaucratic hurdles between the two countries.

State Rep. Margaret Croke celebrates her lead in the race to be the Democratic nominee for comptroller with her daughter, Hattie Croke, 2, in Chicago’s West Loop neighborhood on March 17, 2026. (Josh Boland/Chicago Tribune)

‘This election is not over’: Democratic race for Illinois comptroller still undecided as Croke holds slim lead

March 18, 2026 at 6:49 p.m.

The Democratic primary for Illinois comptroller remained too close to call as state Rep. Margaret Croke maintained a slim lead over state Sen. Karina Villa.

State Rep. Croke holds narrow lead in the Democratic race for Illinois comptroller

March 18, 2026 at 10:27 a.m.

State Rep. Margaret Croke said she was confident late Tuesday that she would prevail in a tightly contested race to become the Democratic nominee for Illinois comptroller.

Victor Jardon-Reyes, a DACA recipient, sits in his home in the Belmont Cragin neighborhood on March 4, 2026. Jardon-Reyes' application for DACA renewal has been so delayed that he lost his job. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)

DACA delays lead to lost jobs, less stability and anxiety over potential deportation under Donald Trump

March 15, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

Without the renewal, DACA recipients are in danger of being placed in deportation proceedings.

Detainees put items into clear plastic bags given to them by masked federal agents near an exterior door at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement holding facility in Broadview on Oct. 13, 2025. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)

Feds violated immigration court order, wrongly deported hundreds, court filing alleges

March 9, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

Attorneys say hundreds, if not thousands, of people arrested in the Chicago area could have ultimately been found eligible for release.

A person walks past glass damaged by bullets at a municipal police station in Guadalajara, Mexico, on Feb. 23, 2026. (Cesar Rodriguez/The New York Times)

‘Pointed the gun at my head’: Chicagoans visiting Mexico forced to hide during cartel violence

February 24, 2026 at 12:42 p.m.

Chicagoans visiting Mexico described the tense moments they spent hiding or running away from men carrying guns. Others with roots in western Mexico said the violence hits close to home.

Carolyn Dunbar, of University Park, is comforted by Ziff Sistrunk as she weeps while arriving with flowers to lay outside the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition headquarters in Chicago, Feb. 17, 2026, following news of the death of the Rev. Jesse Jackson. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)

Rev. Jesse Jackson remembered as one of the ‘last great leaders’ by Chicago friends and neighbors

February 17, 2026 at 6:28 p.m.

The Rev. Jesse Jackson was remembered as a “servant leader” who championed the oppressed, voiceless and overlooked around the world.

Juan Espinoza Martinez with his three U.S.-born children. Espinoza Martinez is facing deportation despite a jury finding him not guilty of putting a bounty on Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino during Operation Midway Blitz. (Family photo)

Immigration judge denies bond for Chicago man acquitted in Bovino murder-for-hire plot

February 11, 2026 at 5:49 p.m.

An immigration judge on Wednesday denied bond to a Chicago man acquitted last month of charges he offered money for the killing of Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino.

People attend a vigil for Alex Pretti outside the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center on Jan. 28, 2026, in Chicago. Federal immigration officers shot and killed Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care unit nurse, in Minneapolis. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)

Still reeling from Operation Midway Blitz, Chicago casts wary eye toward Minneapolis

February 1, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

Agents efforts in Minnesota have mirrored what many in Chicago saw: parents in reflective vests outside schools, cars left abandoned with their doors open and drivers missing, dark SUVs screaming...

Marina Lopez fixes her hair before heading to church on Jan. 18, 2026. Lopez spent seven months in a Kentucky detention center after being detained by federal agents during a routine check-in. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)

ICE releases Chicago-area mother after seven months. It failed to provide evidence justifying her detention.

January 27, 2026 at 12:10 p.m.

While Marina Lopez was in ICE detention for seven months, parishioners in her church stepped up to help care for her family.

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