Documented

Meet Rommel, Senior Community Correspondent and Engagement Reporter for the Latino Community “I see the real world impact of my stories.” Rommel H. Ojeda is Documented’s Senior Community Correspondent and Engagement Reporter, as well as a bilingual journalist and filmmaker. His reporting focuses on immigration and the issues shaping Latino communities across New York. Working in both Spanish and English, Rommel researches, reports and writes stories while creating resource guides and evergreen content that help immigrant New Yorkers navigate complex systems and everyday challenges. Rommel’s reporting is grounded in service journalism, making difficult legal and policy issues accessible to the communities most affected by them. His reporting on "next friend" habeas petitions for immigrants in ICE custody explained a little-known legal mechanism that can help detained immigrants challenge their detention when they are unable to advocate for themselves, giving readers practical information about their rights and available legal options. Some of Rommel’s recent journalism we’re most proud of: 🏔️ How ‘Next Friend’ Habeas Petitions Can Help Immigrants Detained by ICE Challenge Their Detention: https://lnkd.in/etZKCdQJ 🏔️What to Know About ICE’s Expedited Removal Process: https://lnkd.in/eXysbbn5 🏔️How to Prepare for an Encounter With ICE in New York City: https://lnkd.in/eKdrRhAG

We're excited to announce a Documented High School Volunteer Drive, an opportunity for NYC high school students to make a meaningful impact in their communities while earning community service hours. Through this drive, volunteers will help distribute Documented postcards, and disseminate information to restaurants, community centers, libraries, faith organizations, and other trusted neighborhood spaces before larger outreach campaigns. No previous experience is necessary. Students will receive training and ongoing support from Documented staff before participating in the drive. The form to apply can be found here: https://lnkd.in/euuRxhAN If you or someone you know is interested in participating, please encourage them to complete the form above. We will follow up with additional details after receiving responses. Thank you for supporting young people who are helping strengthen and inform communities across New York City.

Meet Amir, Senior Labor Reporter “I care about people. I care about exposing injustice.” Amir Khafagy is Documented’s Senior Labor Reporter and an award-winning journalist. His reporting explores the intersections of labor, race, class, immigration, and urban development, with a focus on the experiences of working-class and immigrant communities. A lifelong New Yorker raised in Jackson Heights, Queens, Amir brings a deeply personal perspective to his work. In one of his recent stories, Amir examined how employers have used threats of deportation to intimidate immigrant workers seeking justice for wage theft and workplace injuries. By centering the experiences of workers navigating fear, retaliation, and discrimination, the story exposes systemic inequities while highlighting the legal protections available to immigrant New Yorkers. It’s just one example of the kind of accountability-seeking journalism Documented prides itself on: https://lnkd.in/eFRNP__d Some others of Amir’s journalism we love: 🧑🏭 An article on Mamdani and his relationship with NYC workers: https://lnkd.in/eEBJ8gxB  🧑🏭 A story on the danger of of construction work in NYC: https://lnkd.in/en5eKGwf  🧑🏭 Insights on the Worker Protection Agency: https://lnkd.in/eARWAa-C

Workforce, immigration, hospitality, human beings and NYS... a story to share: Every summer, thousands of visitors travel to Lake Placid causing the town's population to balloon beyond its usual size. The busy summer tourism season relies heavily on immigrant workers, many of whom come on temporary J-1 Exchange Visitor Visas to work in hotels, restaurants, and other businesses that serve tourists. The raids have left many immigrants in Lake Placid living in fear. Residents are avoiding work, church, school, and English classes because they worry about being detained. Some families are now considering leaving the area altogether. Business owners and community leaders warn that losing immigrant workers could upend Lake Placid's tourism industry. An important piece by Amir Khafagy for Documented

As our timelines are flooded with synthetic information, what does it take to reach immigrants and empower them to navigate this onslaught of (mostly bad) information? I guess, for me it's meant stepping into ESL classrooms, community centers and libraries for the past three years. In many ways, I've learned that problems that Big Tech has created for immigrant communities can't be solved with more tech. They are generally best addressed IRL. On June 5, I was given the opportunity to collect my thoughts about this work and to share it with dozens of librarians, whom I've seen as collaborators and pioneers in this kind of work. This article is a writeup of that keynote and also includes workshop materials I've developed for immigrants to learn about mis- and disinformation, about AI, about online scams and about digital security. Thanks to Kat Duncan and Reynolds Journalism Institute for publishing my thoughts even beyond my fellowship time; to the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY, The Markup and Documented for deeming it as important (which is not a given!) and for supporting it; and to all my collaborators who work for NYC's DOE, the Queens Public Library and the countless Vietnamese community centers around the country and who've allowed me into the trusted spaces they've created for immigrants. https://lnkd.in/gWTnFCbN

Meet Ethar, Documented’s Editor-in-Chief “What made me join Documented is [...] noticing where journalism has the most impact.” Ethar El-Katatney leads Documented as editor-in-chief, bringing more than two decades of journalism, audience engagement and newsroom leadership experience to the team. Ethar’s career has been recognized with honors including the CNN African Journalist of the Year Award, the Samir Kassir Freedom of the Press Award, and the Anna Lindh Euro-Mediterranean Journalist Award. As Ethar shared on CJR’s The Kicker podcast, “we are on the platforms immigrants are on,” highlighting Documented’s approach of reaching immigrant communities through the digital spaces they already use and trust, and ensuring journalism has impact where people need it most. You can find the podcast here: https://lnkd.in/e3J_5Ksu Some others of Ethar’s recent journalism we’re most proud of: 🌍 Ethar at Amanpour & Co on CNN and PBS “The Cost of Sending Help: How Remittance Taxes Could Destabilize Haiti”: https://lnkd.in/e-mCjPJ9 🌍 Ethar at CJR's The Kicker Podcast “How Documented uncovered immigration court scams”: https://lnkd.in/etQ8QEZ2 🌍 Ethar at NY1 Spectrum News with Pat Kiernan “Immigration Crackdown Sparks Fear Amongst NYC Immigrants”: https://lnkd.in/eVGfVtek

Yesterday, New Yorkers watched with alarm as a Midtown skyscraper was evacuated amid fears it could collapse. Building on earlier reporting by The City Reporter, our investigation by labor reporter Amir Khafagy examines one of the demolition subcontractors working on the former Pfizer headquarters—a company with years of safety violations, worker complaints, wage theft litigation, and fines before the near-catastrophe. Among the findings: ➡️ A history of NYC Department of Buildings safety violations and penalties. ➡️ Previous OSHA fines following a worker fatality. ➡️ A federal wage theft lawsuit brought by immigrant workers that ended in a settlement. ➡️ Earlier warnings from CONSTRUCTION AND GENERAL BUILDING LABORERS LOCAL UNION 79 about the company's safety record. The story underscores a question that extends well beyond a single building: What happens when warning signs accumulate over years—and who is responsible for acting on them? At Documented, we report at the intersection of labor, immigration, and public accountability because workplace conditions don't only affect workers. They shape the safety of entire communities. Read the investigation: https://lnkd.in/gVcaR7v2 #Labor #WorkplaceSafety #Construction #InvestigativeJournalism #NYC #OccupationalSafety #Accountability

Today - Documented published the corresponding guide to some of the best short-term healthcare job training programs for in-demand jobs. Check it out here: https://lnkd.in/gicyvCsk Thank you Anastasia Tomkin and for information from Jasmine Vega-Pegram New York Alliance for Careers in Healthcare (NYACH) and Kyrie Philbrook Upwardly Global during our The New York Public Library panel discussion.

NYCBenefits has helped tens of thousands of New Yorkers apply for and maintain food, housing, healthcare, and other services. https://lnkd.in/g-VMabcu Documented Chinese-American Planning Council Center for Family Life in Sunset Park United Neighborhood Houses

As Documented builds our team, we are honored to introduce the people who are already making our community responsive, multilingual journalism happen: our correspondents and editors. Documented has an incredibly diverse, passionate and innovative newsroom, and it’s all thanks to these folks. As we know, journalism is effective when it is based on trust. Over the next few weeks, we hope to build it further with readers like you by sharing more about the backgrounds, focus and “why” of some of our team members.  Take a minute to check out this video about what compels team members to report. Thanks to our winter intern Ross Davis from Middlebury College, who made this with Documented's Natalia Gutiérrez and Shayma Al-shiri. Any thoughts or questions for our team? Let us know in the comments..