Documented

Documented's Rommel H. Ojeda spoke to early voters in Jackson Heights this past week about what brought them out to their polling sites. The reasons they voted early were as varied as the neighborhood of Jackson Heights itself, where two-thirds of residents are foreign-born.

Our newsroom has been preparing all year for this Election Day. Here's Editor-in-Chief Ethar El-Katatney on how we've been reporting for and with immigrant New Yorkers leading up to this moment:

Voice of America profiled Documented on Thursday, illustrating the importance of our local coverage at a time when immigration has become a polarizing issue in the U.S. presidential election. "As an immigrant myself, I tend to understand what other immigrants are going through," Oluwafisayo Okare said. "We pride ourselves on not just writing about immigrants but writing for them." Hear more from Oluwafisayo Okare, Ke "April" Xu, and Mazin Sidahmed here: https://lnkd.in/eSr9Rbux

Catch up on Documented’s investigations and reporting on Mayor Eric Adams and his team before more news breaks. Read more below 👇 • Documented has been investigating Adams and his former aide Winnie Greco for months, uncovering a web of suspicious financial ties to Chinese business figures in New York City.  Dig in deeper to our past reporting here: https://lnkd.in/epR5Q5zn • Documented was the first news outlet to uncover the apparent identity of “Businessman-4” named in Adams’ indictment – Uzbek developer Tolib Mansurov. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/eK96Zx7Y • We dove deep into Adams’ former Senior Advisor on South Asia and Muslim Affairs, Ahsan Chughtai, and his role in the administration before his home was raided by the FBI and the NYC Department of Investigation. Read here more here: https://lnkd.in/eJvz6znp • In the aftermath of Adams’ indictment, Chinese elected officials called for the mayor’s resignation. Read their thoughts here: https://lnkd.in/eFJKdnmr Stay updated on the latest through our Early Arrival newsletter: docu.nyc/earlyarrival

As the 2024 U.S. presidential election draws near, Caribbean Americans in New York City spoke to Documented about their perspectives on critical issues. Though often overlooked as a voting bloc, Caribbean Americans make up 20% of the city’s population. Documented hit the streets of Flatbush, Brooklyn, and South Richmond Hill, Queens, to gather insights on Caribbean American voter participation, immigration concerns, and what they think about the candidates. Many called for greater change and stronger representation in politics. With critical issues spanning the economy, immigration reform, and reproductive justice, many said they want a U.S. president who understands their diverse needs, experiences and concerns.

Over the past year, Documented has been working with the International Rescue Committee to launch a digital platform called Documented.info. This new digital platform is designed to provide asylum seekers and migrants in New York City with reliable, multilingual information covering everything from access to shelter and mental health resources, employment eligibility, and labor rights to information about how to navigate the asylum process and find legal support. Documented.info addresses the unique challenges asylum seekers and immigrants, especially those from underserved backgrounds, face in navigating complex legal systems and services. Immigrants can message their questions to Documented.info via popular messaging platforms Whatsapp and Facebook Messenger. Journalists and experts respond – in English, Spanish, Haitian Creole, and French at launch – and share actionable resources, vetted services and original, targeted reporting. The platform aims to close critical information gaps, counter misinformation affecting immigrant communities and build trust. Read  more from our team and our partners at IRC here: https://lnkd.in/g3CfZDH6 

We’re honored that Documented’s Co-Founder and Executive Director, Mazin Sidahmed, was named the recipient of this year’s Freedom of the Press Local Champion Award!

We’re excited to welcome Lam Thuy Vo to the team as a contributing investigative reporter! She will be helping to expand our work investigating sources of digitally distributed misinformation and the harm it creates and deepening our business accountability journalism. She is currently an associate professor of data journalism at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism and previously worked as a journalist at The Markup, BuzzFeed News, The Wall Street Journal, Al Jazeera America and NPR's Planet Money.

We are excited to announce Ethar El-Katatney as Documented’s new Editor-in-Chief! Her skills and experience as a digital newsroom manager and strategist, and her passion, align so well with this position and our team. Most recently, Ethar served as News Product Strategy Lead for the Americas at Bloomberg. Previously, she was the Young Audiences Editor at The Wall Street Journal and the executive producer overseeing the AJ+ newsroom, the digital video arm of Al-Jazeera she helped pilot, launch and lead. In addition, Ethar has served as a dedicated member of Documented’s board for the past two years, and is deeply familiar with the organization’s mission and our commitment to letting immigrant communities lead on what is most important for us to cover. We look forward to having her join us starting Oct. 15!

Documented meets immigrant New Yorkers where they are – whether it’s on WhatsApp or in person. Oluwafisayo Okare went to a migrant shelter last week to distribute 90 informational packets with access to Documented’s library of resources in both French and Spanish to residents.