Rommel H. Ojeda
LightNews LightNews
banner
rojeda.bsky.social
Rommel H. Ojeda
@rojeda.bsky.social
470 followers 50 following 20 posts
Immigration multimedia reporter at www.documentedny.com | Se habla español! 🇪🇨🏃

Reposts does not equal endorsement.
Posts Replies Media Videos
Reposted by Rommel H. Ojeda
austinkocher.com
The shutdown may be over, but SNAP delays mean many New Yorkers still aren’t getting benefits. Food pantries are seeing longer lines and more people struggling with rising costs. @documentedny.bsky.social @rojeda.bsky.social

Read more: documentedny.com/2025/11/14/s...
New Yorkers Are Still Going Hungry from SNAP Delays
Because SNAP benefits are issued a month in advance, many won’t see relief until well after the government reopens. Meanwhile, food pantries say the need for food has intensified even more.
documentedny.com
November 14, 2025 at 6:32 PM
rojeda.bsky.social
After attorney Kofi Amankwaa was sentenced for defrauding hundreds of immigrants, his victims were left without help—no guidance, no restitution, some facing deportation. "They didn’t leave us with anything to protect ourselves," L. told
@documentedny.bsky.social

documentedny.com/2025/10/06/k...
'Because of Someone Else’s Mistake, They Deport You’: Immigrants Defrauded by Bronx Lawyer Speak Out - Documented
Months after attorney Kofi Amankwaa was sentenced for filing fraudulent VAWA (Violence Against Women Act) petitions, his immigrant clients say they’ve received no help or outreach from federal authori...
documentedny.com
October 6, 2025 at 3:49 PM
rojeda.bsky.social
A new report found a NYC DOC investigator broke sanctuary laws by sharing detainee info with ICE. Advocates warn such breaches fuel fear in immigrant communities and highlight gaps in DOC training and oversight.

documentedny.com/2025/09/25/n...
Report Finds DOC Investigator Breaks Sanctuary City Laws
A New York City Department of Correction investigator violated the city's sanctuary laws by sharing information about two men in custody with federal immigration authorities, highlighting gaps in trai...
documentedny.com
September 26, 2025 at 5:39 PM
Reposted by Rommel H. Ojeda
documentedny.bsky.social
HAPPENING NOW: 11 lawmakers have been arrested by DHS on the tenth floor of 26 Federal Plaza after trying to gain access for over an hour.
September 18, 2025 at 8:15 PM
rojeda.bsky.social
NYPD seized 53 e-bikes in East Village sweeps after 311 complaints, costing delivery workers thousands in lost wages. Advocates say the sweeps show the Adams admin criminalizing delivery workers, mostly immigrants, while failing to build needed infrastructure.

documentedny.com/2025/09/17/e...
NYPD's Confiscation of E-Bikes Leave Immigrant Delivery Workers Without Wheels or Wages - Documented
In two organized summer sweeps, the New York Police Department confiscated a total of 53 e-bikes in the East Village.
documentedny.com
September 17, 2025 at 5:10 PM
rojeda.bsky.social
🚨Update: A TRO against ICE’s holding conditions at 26 Federal Plaza has now become a preliminary injunction with class certification. A judge barred ICE from overcrowding and ordered mats, soap, hygiene supplies & confidential lawyer calls within 24 hrs.

www.aclu.org/press-releas...
District Court Grants Order Prohibiting ICE from Detaining Immigrants in Abusive Conditions at 26 Federal Plaza | American Civil Liberties Union
NEW YORK – A U.S. District Court granted a preliminary injunction today that would improve conditions for people detained by Immigration and Customs...
www.aclu.org
September 17, 2025 at 5:03 PM
Reposted by Rommel H. Ojeda
clarissaleon.bsky.social
🇲🇽 In the midst of all the Mexican Independence Day parade cancellations, the community in Staten Island came OUT. "We are not going back to the shadows," members told the organizers. cc @HolaLaYesenia / @LaColmenaNYC

Read more from @cestrommel here:

documentedny.com/2025/09/15/s...
‘We Are Not Going Back to the Shadows’: Staten Island’s Mexican Parade Marches On - Documented
Thousands of Mexican immigrants and allies gathered in Staten Island to celebrate Mexican Independence Day, despite fears of ICE presence, to show their pride in their culture and to support one…
documentedny.com
September 16, 2025 at 11:55 PM
Reposted by Rommel H. Ojeda
manhattanda.bsky.social
Más información sobre nuestros esfuerzos para alentar a las comunidades vulnerables a denunciar las infracciones laborales y el fraude migratorio en @documentedny.bsky.social: documentedny.com/2025/09/08/m...
Líderes comunitarios redoblan esfuerzos para servir a inmigrantes ante redadas de ICE - Documented
Disminuye la participación en programas para inmigrantes en Queens tras políticas de Trump, NICE adapta servicios para atender temores comunitarios.
documentedny.com
September 8, 2025 at 7:21 PM
Reposted by Rommel H. Ojeda
documentedny.bsky.social
Thousands of Mexican immigrants and allies gathered in Staten Island to celebrate Mexican Independence Day, despite fears of ICE presence, to show their pride in their culture and to support one another.
documentedny.com/2025/09/15/s...
September 16, 2025 at 3:28 PM
Reposted by Rommel H. Ojeda
documentedny.bsky.social
. @maketheroadny.bsky.social Attorney Explains What the TRO Means for Federal Plaza Detainees
documentedny.com/2025/08/13/m...
August 13, 2025 at 7:20 PM
Reposted by Rommel H. Ojeda
evlovesnyc.bsky.social
Hey, look! It's our Cafewal project in the news! Thanks @documentedny.bsky.social and @rojeda.bsky.social for coming to see what we are doing alongside the newest New Yorkers, asylum seekers and migrants.
documentedny.bsky.social Documented @documentedny.bsky.social · Aug 5
Migrants Find Home Away From Home at Cafewal, a Volunteer-Run Resource Center documentedny.com/2025/08/01/c...
August 6, 2025 at 8:20 PM
rojeda.bsky.social
Dylan, a Bronx high schooler, was detained by ICE on May 21. He has no criminal record. A judge granted a motion to reconsider the improper dismissal of his asylum case, but he remains detained. “This is like a global nightmare,” his mother told me.

documentedny.com/2025/07/23/d...
Mother of Bronx Student Pleads for His Release, Two Months After ICE Detained Him - Documented
Raiza is fighting for the release of her son, Dylan Lopez Contreras, who was detained by ICE agents after attending his asylum case hearing in New York immigration court.
documentedny.com
July 23, 2025 at 3:26 PM
rojeda.bsky.social
After four months of being held in El Salvador’s maximum security prison #CECOT, #Merwil #Gutiérrez— who was arrested in the Bronx— reunited with his sister in Venezuela last Friday. “Thank God my son is over there now,” his father told @documentedny.bsky.social

documentedny.com/2025/07/21/v...
From El Salvador’s CECOT Prison to His Family’s Arms - Documented
After spending 125 days in El Salvador’s notorious Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo (CECOT) prison, Merwil Gutiérrez, a 20-year-old asylum seeker detained in the Bronx, was released last Friday ...
documentedny.com
July 21, 2025 at 3:51 PM
Reposted by Rommel H. Ojeda
legalaidnyc.bsky.social
“People who are doing housing work, family law, tax work, all these things — they are all being touched by the trend of detention that’s happening..."

Deborah Lee, Attorney-in-Charge at The Legal Aid Society

documentedny.com/2025/07/07/s...
Search for Lawyers Intensifies as Court Detentions Ramp Up - Documented
As Trump’s immigration crackdown escalates, an overburdened legal aid system leaves many immigrants alone and scrambling for help.
documentedny.com
July 7, 2025 at 4:39 PM
Reposted by Rommel H. Ojeda
skepchick.org
I've been talking about con artists for two decades, and this is one of the worst scams I've ever seen: fake immigration lawyers are taking advantage of immigrants who want to legally live in the US but are scared of being abducted by ICE thugs skepchick.org/2025/06/ice-...
ICE is Helping Predators Scam Immigrants
Transcript: The US government has empowered a secret police force to round up people they suspect of being undocumented immigrants and disappearing them off the streets, out of schools, and even aw…
skepchick.org
June 18, 2025 at 3:02 PM
Reposted by Rommel H. Ojeda
joshuajfriedman.com
What a disturbingly intricate scam: Immigrants end up paying thousands of dollars and attending fake virtual immigration hearings over many months—all the while jeopardizing their real immigration cases by missing the real hearings.
Fake Immigration Courts Take Advantage of Immigrants Desperate for Answers
Immigrants seeking legal help online to protect themselves from Trump’s deportation plans are increasingly falling prey to costly scams.
www.thecity.nyc
June 9, 2025 at 7:44 PM
Reposted by Rommel H. Ojeda
amirkhafagy.bsky.social
Big News for Workers 🔥

New York's Retail Worker Safety Act and the Warehouse Worker Injury Reduction Act took effect last week, making New York workplaces safer

Read all about it in my latest for @documentedny.bsky.social

documentedny.com/2025/06/11/n...
New Labor Laws Bring Safety Protections to NYS Warehouse and Retail Workers
The Retail Worker Safety Act and the Warehouse Worker Injury Reduction Act Aim to make New York workplaces safer.
documentedny.com
June 11, 2025 at 6:10 PM
Reposted by Rommel H. Ojeda
gwynnefitz.bsky.social
As if immigration court is not bleak enough, @rojeda.bsky.social reports on the bleakness of scam immigration court:

www.thecity.nyc/2025/06/09/f...
Fake Immigration Courts Take Advantage of Immigrants Desperate for Answers
Immigrants seeking legal help online to protect themselves from Trump’s deportation plans are increasingly falling prey to costly scams.
www.thecity.nyc
June 10, 2025 at 2:39 PM
rojeda.bsky.social
Immigrants are falling victim to elaborate scams on social media while seeking legal assistance to avoid deportation under Trump’s most recent crackdown. In New York City alone, immigration-related scams rose by 27% last year.

documentedny.com/2025/06/09/f... via @documentedny.bsky.social
Fake Immigration Courts Take Advantage of Immigrants Desperate for Answers - Documented Fake Immigration Courts Take Advantage of Immigrants Desperate for Answers
Immigrants seeking legal help online to protect themselves from Trump’s deportation plans are increasingly falling prey to costly scams.
documentedny.com
June 9, 2025 at 12:58 PM
rojeda.bsky.social
Josue Trejo Lopez, 19, was deported two weeks before his high school graduation—despite having no criminal record. He’s one of a growing number of immigrants being detained at ICE check-ins, as Trump pushes mass deportations regardless of background.

documentedny.com/2025/06/03/g...
Josue Lopez Was Set to Graduate High School on May 21 — Instead, ICE Deported Him to El Salvador - Documented
After coming to the U.S. as children, and living in the country for nine years, brothers Jose, 20, and Josue Lopez, 19, were abruptly detained during a routine ICE check-in and deported to El Salvador...
documentedny.com
June 4, 2025 at 4:24 PM
rojeda.bsky.social
For @documentedny.bsky.social, I followed Afrikana to cover their efforts to feed Muslim asylum seekers during Ramadan—addressing food insecurity while fostering community and cultural connection.

Read the full story here: documentedny.com/2025/03/21/r...
Before Dawn: Serving New York's Asylum Seekers During Holy Month of Ramadan
With thousands of meals distributed daily, Afrikana is not only addressing food insecurity but also fostering a sense of community and cultural connection during the holy month of Ramadan.
documentedny.com
March 21, 2025 at 7:35 PM
rojeda.bsky.social
I spoke with immigrants who said they fear ICE will detain them if they attend immigration court. Experts warn, however, that missing a hearing can result in an automatic deportation order.

documentedny.com/2025/03/10/c... via @documentedny.bsky.social
Rumors and Fear Drive Immigrants to Skip Court — A Decision With Heavy Costs
Immigrants are considering not attending their immigration court hearings without realizing the impact it could have in their case.
documentedny.com
March 10, 2025 at 3:53 PM
rojeda.bsky.social
An increase in posts about #ICE raids on TikTok, claiming they are happening under Trump’s anti-immigration agenda, has been fueling fear in immigrant communities and reinforcing the perception of massive raids.

documentedny.com/2025/02/04/t... via @documentedny.bsky.social
TikTok Is Fueling Fears of ICE Raids, Even When They Aren’t Happening
Social media platforms like TikTok have seen a surge of videos claiming to show ICE raids conducted under Trump’s anti-immigration agenda.
documentedny.com
February 5, 2025 at 2:38 PM
Reposted by Rommel H. Ojeda
reynaldoleanosjr.bsky.social
I finally joined!

Hi everyone, I'm a journalist / producer from the #RGV of south Texas on the U.S.-Mexico border, now in NYC.

I work for a podcast / national public radio show named Latino USA where we cover everything related to Latinos & Latinas

Hope you'll give me follow me!
www.latinousa.org
Latino USA
Latino USA with Maria Hinojosa, produced by The Futuro Media Group, is the longest running Latino-focused program on U.S. public media.
www.latinousa.org
January 22, 2025 at 3:16 AM
rojeda.bsky.social
Poor communication and a hasty relocation leave Floyd Bennett Field residents like Montilla uncertain about their children’s schooling and the potential loss of important mail.

documentedny.com/2024/12/12/f... via @documentedny.bsky.social
Migrants Feel Relief and Anxiety as Floyd Bennett Field Closes - Documented
The 2,000-bed shelter sat on federal land, heightening fears that agents could easily enter and arrest migrants. Now that it is closed, residents face more uncertainty.
documentedny.com
December 17, 2024 at 10:38 PM