Meet The Sacramento Bee’s new Latino communities reporter, Kim Bojórquez

Saludos! My name is Kim Bojórquez and I’m a Report for America corps member covering Latino issues in California for The Sacramento Bee’s Capitol Bureau.

My interest in writing about Latino lives began in college, when I noticed the lack of coverage for and about diverse students in my college’s student newspaper at Utah Valley University. I channeled my frustration into a decision: I joined the newspaper as a student journalist.

I went on to write about the growing activism among DACA recipients on campus, traveled to Minneapolis to cover protests sparked by the officer-involved killing of Philando Castile and, with a fellow student reporter, challenged my school to release public records to explain the abrupt departure of the school’s Title IX director.

Upon graduation in 2019, I worked as a news intern for the Deseret News in Salt Lake City, where I continued to write about Latinos in Utah. I covered stories about undocumented veterans’ pathway to U.S. citizenship, the influence of Mariachi music in America and a profile about a small town’s sole Latina police officer.

My internship turned into a full-time job, when I was hired as an audience strategist and reporter for the newspaper. Three months later, the COVID-19 pandemic rose — hitting Latino communities particularly hard. I helped cover COVID-19’s toll on Utah’s Latinos and undocumented immigrants who faced disproportionate rates of unemployment and infection.

During my first week here at The Bee, I interviewed Latinos about the health risks they weighed to attend George Floyd protests during a pandemic. I also wrote about lawmakers’ efforts to include tax breaks for undocumented immigrants in the state budget.

I was born in Los Angeles to a Mexican mother and Guatemalan father. Growing up, my favorite part of the day was going to my mom’s taqueria after school. I did homework to the smell of freshly chopped cilantro and the sound of sizzling carnitas.

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and as protesters hit the streets nationwide over the death of a black man who died in police custody, covering underserved populations is vital.

In California, Latinos account for 39.3% of the population. They have stories to tell beyond immigration and crime.

As a bilingual Report for America corps member, I want to write for Latino audiences about the policies and legislation that affect them. I also want to explore and learn about the diversity and tensions within the Latino community. I plan to write about Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, proposed Medi-Cal expansion to undocumented immigrants, Latinos for President Trump and much more.

I have a request for readers.

Have you noticed unintended consequences of policies meant to help Latinos? What is an issue you believe is undercovered in Latino communities? I invite you to send me your concerns, observations or story ideas to my email kbojorquez@sacbee.com as I seek to understand and listen to the community.

This story was originally published June 11, 2020 at 5:00 AM.