Patricia Mercado Sánchez

Mercado Sánchez is the 2026 ICFJ News Innovation Award winner.

Patricia Mercado Sánchez is the founder and CEO of Conexión Migrante, an independent, digital-native newsroom and civil society organization that is transforming how migration is covered and addressed in Latin America and the United States. Under Mercado Sánchez’s leadership, Conexión Migrante has evolved from a trusted news outlet into a lifeline for Latin American migrants. Driven by Mercado Sánchez’s conviction that "accurate information is a powerful tool for assertive life decisions," the organization has built a massive digital ecosystem that has served over 10 million people. 

Mercado Sánchez pioneered the creation of the Centro de Atención al Migrante (CAM), a specialized, direct-response support center that has provided personalized, hands-on guidance to more than 100,000 migrants and families navigating complex legal, digital and humanitarian landscapes. The service helps families find loved ones who have been detained or arrested, guides migrants through Mexico’s family reunification programs and more.

Under her leadership, Conexión Migrante has led investigations exposing fraud in Mexico's family reunification programs and disinformation campaigns that target migrant communities. It also produced a series documenting the disproportionate COVID-19 death toll among undocumented Mexicans in New York – reporting that helped mobilize community networks during the pandemic.

Throughout her career that spans over 25 years, Mercado Sánchez has championed community-centric journalism, countering prevailing narratives of violence and poverty with stories that highlight the resilience, agency and economic contributions of the diaspora. As an executive, she successfully balances editorial strategy with institutional development, leading fundraising efforts, digital rights training and cross-border initiatives to ensure the financial sustainability and civic impact of the publication.

Prior to founding Conexión Migrante in 2016, Mercado Sánchez was a reporter, editor and director for various media outlets in Mexico, including El Economista, where she served as editor-in-chief. She was also a correspondent for the BBC, covering politics, corruption and drug trafficking. She was a 2006-2007 John S. Knight Fellow at Stanford University.