Mass detention database puts trove of data at fingertips of investigative journalists

Mass detention operations by immigration agents over the last year have taken immigration from what was largely a national political issue to one that is deeply felt in communities of all sizes throughout the country.

In that time, news outlets have told countless human stories about migrant life in America, about detainment and about the justice system. But within and alongside those human stories, data journalists have worked overtime to crunch the official facts and figures as well as streams of information coming from the public and fellow journalists. The numbers of detainees; where, when, why, how and by whom they were detained; who they are and what happened to them.