ICE Data Analysis and Visualization Hackathon

Help us analyze and visualize the plight of children in ICE custody.

The Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law ("the Center") has been working for decades to improve the improve the care of migrant children in custody of ICE and ORR (Office of Refugee Resettlement). As a part of a settlement with the Federal government, the Center receives a detailed monthly report that includes demographic and current location information of every child in custody. This database contains data for roughly 135,000 children in ICE and ORR custody over a three-year period.

The Center is seeking the help of trusted technologists and data visualization specialists to analyze an anonymized version of this data to help tell the story of children in immigration custody. This meetup will create visualizations of this data, using your talents.

If you would like to participate, please read the following important information:

Background: http://bit.ly/2vLNMRy (Google Doc) contains extensive background information, as well as a technical description of the data and schema. Please read it!

Credentials: We must issue credentials BEFORE the meetup to avoid wasting time that night. To get credentials, email the declaration below to aaron@crisiscleanup.org, no later than AUGUST 21.

Skills: All skill levels are welcome. Currently, the data is available via raw SQL query only. If someone wants to write an API, contact aaron@crisiscleanup.org. Helpful skills include:

• PostgreSQL
• Data visualization experience
• Attention to detail, and a desire to share these kids' stories.

Required Declaration:
Please email the following declaration to aaron@crisiscleanup.org by AUGUST 21 to receive your credentials:

I understand that this database contains demographic and location information for accompanied and unaccompanied minors in custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR). Though this information has been de-identified, it is still sensitive and must ONLY be used to promote the humanitarian interests of the children. Consequently, I declare that:

• I will not share the raw data with any other person who has not agreed to this pledge.
• I will not download the entire database, or large sections to another or local computer.
• I am not an employee of DHS, ICE, ORR, or any other federal agency.
• I will not perform any analysis at the behest of a government employee, nor share my analysis directly with a government employee without permission of the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law.
• I will only use this data set to promote the humanitarian interests of refugee children.
• I will not attempt to re-identify any of the de-identified information.

About The Speaker

Aaron is a nationally recognized expert on preparation and disaster volunteerism, and author of How to Prepare for Everything. As a software project manager he operates the nation's largest open source collaborative disaster cleanup platform, Crisis Cleanup.

Snacks and Beverages will be provided. If you or your company are interested in sponsoring this meetup, please contact one of the organizers.