Jackie Botts

Data reporter | Periodista de datos

Mexico

I am an independent data reporter based in the U.S. and Mexico. My data-driven investigations have delved into immigration, climate change, famine, drug trafficking, criminal justice, inequality, labor, and more.

I was part of a Reuters News team awarded a Pulitzer Prize in Explanatory Reporting in 2021 for an investigative series that employed a "pioneering data analysis" to examine qualified immunity, a legal doctrine that shields police who use excessive force. Before Reuters, I covered economic inequality for CalMatters, a nonprofit newsroom covering California politics and policy. I got my start in journalism at the Santa Barbara Independent.

Contact, tips, collaborations, commissions: jackiembotts@proton.me

______________________________________________________________________

Soy reportera de datos independiente, trabajando desde los Estados Unidos y México. Mis investigaciones basadas en análisis de datos han profundizado en temas de inmigración, el cambio climático, hambruna, el tráfico de drogas, el sistema penal, desigualdad, labor y más.

Fui parte de un equipo de Reuters News que recibió un Premio Pulitzer de Reportaje Explicativo en 2021 por una serie de investigaciones que empleó un «análisis de datos pionero» para examinar la inmunidad calificada, una doctrina legal que protege a la policía que usa fuerza excesiva en los Estados Unidos. Antes de Reuters, cubrí desigualdad económica para CalMatters, una redacción sin fines de lucro que cubre las políticas públicas de California. Empecé en el periodismo en The Santa Barbara Independent.

Contacto, tips, colaboraciones, comisiones: jackiembotts@proton.me

LinkedIn Icon Resume Icon
Portfolio

Investigations & Data

CalMatters
04/28/2021
Millions of students can't afford broadband | CalMatters

About twice a week, the $9.99 per month internet connection falters. It's often as Mario Ramírez finally wrangles his kids into their seats - the fourth-grader studies in the bedroom he shares with his 12 year-old sister, who studies in her parents' bedroom - in time for virtual class.

CalMatters
06/12/2020
Close Quarters: The neighborhoods where COVID collides with overcrowded homes

The pandemic has layered a health crisis on top of a housing crisis on top of a class divide. A clear pattern has emerged as the coronavirus spares some California neighborhoods and strikes others: The virus takes a heavier toll in neighborhoods where people pack into overcrowded homes, according to a CalMatters analysis of neighborhood-level data from 10 counties.

Pulitzer Prize

The Pulitzer Prizes
06/11/2021
The 2021 Pulitzer Prize Winner in Explanatory Reporting

Andrew Chung, Lawrence Hurley, Andrea Januta, Jaimi Dowdell and Jackie Botts of Reuters. For an exhaustive examination, powered by a pioneering data analysis of U.S. federal court cases, of the obscure legal doctrine of “qualified immunity” and how it shields police who use excessive force from prosecution.

Reuters
08/25/2020
Shot by cops, thwarted by judges and geography

For years, the words "qualified immunity" were seldom heard outside of legal and academic circles, where critics have long contended that the doctrine is unjust. But outrage over the killing of George Floyd and incidents like it have made this 50-year-old legal doctrine - created by the U.S.

Reuters
05/08/2020
For cops who kill, special Supreme Court protection

Effective barrier Aldaba's lament has become an increasingly common one. Even as the proliferation of police body cameras and bystander cellphone video has turned a national spotlight on extreme police tactics, qualified immunity, under the careful stewardship of the Supreme Court, is making it easier for officers to kill or injure civilians with impunity.

Narrative & Features

Reuters
08/01/2022
'VIP trips' cost migrants their lives in Texas smuggling tragedy

TLAPACOYAN, Mexico, Aug 1 (Reuters) - At first, Mexican migrants Pablo Ortega and Julio Lopez enjoyed the smuggling equivalent of a first-class ticket to the United States: complimentary beers, safe houses with video games, even a week at a hunting ranch.

CalMatters
01/17/2022
One man's lonely journey through California's plan to end homelessness

By the lone tent under the cement overpass, just visible from the Hollywood Freeway, Fernando Maya waited with several backpacks stuffed with clothes, electronics and food. Once a constant roar of traffic below his makeshift home, the freeway stood empty in the waning days of spring 2020 as the first wave of coronavirus tore through California.

Audio Storytelling

Radio Bilingüe
01/02/2026
Radio indígena, puente de confianza para campesinos

En el corazón agrícola de Oxnard, en la costa californiana, una estación de radio indígena se ha convertido en más que una emisora. Durante la mega redada migratoria de julio de 2025, pasó a ser un refugio informativo para miles de trabajadores y sus familias que se comunican en idiomas indígenas del sur de México.

All Reporting

Reuters
Jackie Botts

The latest international Jackie Botts news and views from Reuters - one of the world's largest news agencies

CalMatters
Jackie Botts

Jackie covered income inequity and economic survival for the The California Divide collaboration from 2019 through 2021.