L.A. Times Wins Sidney Award for Coverage of ICE Raids

The Los Angeles Times has won the July Sidney Award from the Sidney Hillman Foundation for its coverage of federal immigration raids in Los Angeles.

In an announcement, the foundation lauded The Times for reporting on how the ICE raids have affected daily life in L.A. and for sharing the stories of Angelenos whose lives have been impacted.

“The L.A. Times coverage shows the power a local newsroom can have on a national story,” said Sidney judge Lindsay Beyerstein. “The L.A. Times is on the street documenting the terror of the raids and the far-ranging fallout of Trump’s policies and offering a chilling preview of what may lie ahead for other cities.”

“The raids have unquestionably brought fear to large swaths of the L.A. area and have disrupted immigrant life. Swap meets and other locations of the city and county’s rich informal economy have largely been emptied in many cases,” said Maria L. La Ganga, Times deputy managing editor in charge for California and Metro, in an interview. “Among many immigrants, both legal and undocumented, there is a feeling that they could easily be detained or arrested.”

The Sidney Hillman Foundation honors excellence in journalism in service of the common good. The Sidney Award is awarded monthly in recognition of outstanding investigative journalism that exposes social and economic injustices. To learn more, visit hillmanfoundation.org.