The International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) today announced Patricia Mercado Sánchez, founder and CEO of Conexión Migrante, as the recipient of its 2026 ICFJ News Innovation Award. Mercado Sánchez leads a small team of journalists that has grown Conexión Migrante into a trusted, multi-platform lifeline for Latin American migrants in the U.S.
Mercado Sanchez will be honored at the 2026 ICFJ Awards Dinner alongside this year's ICFJ Knight International Journalism awardees. The News Innovation Award recognizes pioneering ways of doing journalism that provide vital and actionable information to improve people's lives.
Based in Mexico City, Mercado Sánchez founded Conexión Migrante in 2016. Since then, the outlet has reached more than 10 million people through its digital platform and has provided direct, personalized assistance to over 100,000 individuals through its call center, the Centro de Atención al Migrante (CAM). You can read more about Mercado Sánchez’s work here.
"Patricia is finding new ways to get actionable information directly into the hands of the communities who need it most, here in the U.S. and beyond," said ICFJ President Sharon Moshavi. "Conexión Migrante’s investigations have uncovered wrongdoing, and their unique call center helps migrants avoid scams, understand immigration proceedings or find missing people. This kind of innovation actually makes people’s lives easier, and it shows one of the directions where journalism is headed.”
Under Mercado Sánchez's 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.
The ICFJ Awards Dinner, on November 10 in Washington D.C., will spotlight the innovators and ideas that are shaping journalism's future. Dave Jorgenson, co-founder of creator-led media company Local News International and former "Washington Post TikTok Guy," and Ayesha Rascoe, host of NPR's "Weekend Edition Sunday" and of the weekend edition of "Up First," will co-host the event. Learn more about this year's Awards Dinner here and join us to honor Mercado Sanchez and our Knight awardees from Cuba and Sudan on Nov. 10.