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.

Venezuelan migrant brothers Alfredo Pacheco, left, and José Gregorio González walk out of their apartment in Cicero before driving to University of Illinois Hospital for kidney transplant surgery on Aug. 14, 2025. Gregorio Gonzalez was released from ICE custody to donate a kidney to his brother on April 4, 2025. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)

ICE detains Venezuelan man who had been released on humanitarian parole to donate kidney to brother

July 29, 2026 at 8:07 p.m.

Jose Gregorio Gonzalez, a Venezuelan migrant who was temporarily released from ICE detention last year so he could donate a kidney to his dying brother, has once again been detained...

Josue Pire Hidalgo, in an undated photo, is a father of two and a custodian for Chicago Public Schools. Pire Hidalgo was detained during an immigration check-in on July 17, 2026. (Hidalgo family)

ICE detains Chicago Public Schools custodian at immigration appointment: ‘Everyone’s just devastated’

July 22, 2026 at 6:11 a.m.

ICE detained Josue Isai Pire-Hidalgo, 31, on July 17 at an immigration appointment.

Alfonso Seiva, center, holds a protest sign created by artist and activist Liliana Medina, right, as demonstrators and area residents gather in Chicago's Little Village neighborhood to pray on July 15, 2026, for people killed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in the past year. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)

ICE enforcement escalates in Chicago with at least 4 vehicle encounters reported this week

July 16, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

This week, rapid response teams have documented at least four encounters in which federal agents approached people while they were in their vehicles.

Alongside other volunteers from the Illinois Venezuelan Alliance, Jose Antonio Corro, center, packs boxes with supplies for people in Venezuela at Linne Elementary School in Avondale on July 2, 2026. Corro lost loved ones in the recent earthquakes in Venezuela. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)

Venezuelans in Chicago turn grief into action after devastating earthquakes rip through country

July 3, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

Dozens of Chicago community organizations, including the Illinois Venezuelan Alliance, established donation centers to collect food, hygiene products, medical supplies and financial contributions.

An expectant mother sits with her 11-year-old son, June 30, 2026, for a portrait for the Chicago Tribune on the South Side of Chicago. The mother has feared the possibility her new child could be born here without the typical rights and protections of an American citizen. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)

Illinois immigrants and leaders rejoice as Supreme Court affirms birthright citizenship, rejecting Trump’s order

June 30, 2026 at 6:59 p.m.

Challenging birthright citizenship was a central campaign pledge of Trump’s, who has disparaged the practice as “a magnet for illegal immigration.”

Jose Enrique Ojeda Duarte looks out the window on Father’s Day, June 21, 2026, in Chicago. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)

US government said ICE deported a Chicago man to Venezuela in ‘error’ and let him return to his family

June 29, 2026 at 10:15 a.m.

The man's return is a rare admission of error by the Trump administration, which has taken a hard and often defiant approach to immigration enforcement.

A man who appears to have his hands restrained in front of him is removed from a vehicle by a federal agent and led into the Broadview Immigration Customs Enforcement processing facility on June 18, 2026. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)

ICE arrests shift to courthouses and immigration check-ins as enforcement intensifies in Chicago area

June 19, 2026 at 2:51 p.m.

Immigrant attorneys and advocates report a recent uptick of arrests at routine check-ins, and criminal courthouses.

Images of video taken outside Erie Family Health Center in Chicago captures immigration authorities taking a man into custody on Oct. 24, 2025, after he dropped off his pregnant wife at the facility for a doctor's appointment. (Roberto Mendez)

Federal judge orders release of man detained outside Erie Family Health while pregnant wife was inside

June 5, 2026 at 10:56 a.m.

A federal judge on Monday ruled that Eriksen Ventura Romero's arrest violated a long-running consent decree and ordered him released.

Pedestrians walk past a vendor’s cart topped with cups of fruit to sell along Michigan Avenue near the Art Institute of Chicago on May 27, 2026. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)

New wave of enforcement leaves Chicago street vendors fearful and struggling

June 2, 2026 at 3:40 p.m.

A recent uptick in enforcement has alarmed immigrant advocates and vendors, particularly because some of the same communities were targeted last year during Operation Midway Blitz.

Mya performs during the Forever Mine Music Festival in Union Park during the Memorial Day holiday weekend Sunday May 24, 2026, in Chicago. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)

Forever Mine Festival is a cross-cultural celebration of Chicago house and R&B

May 25, 2026 at 2:19 p.m.

The new Forever Mine Festival transformed Union Park into a sprawling celebration of house music and 2000s R&B over Memorial Day weekend.

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