Thousands of New York families are irreparably changed every year when their loved ones are detained or deported by the Department of Homeland Security.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests in New York are well documented, but the affects of detention and deportation are less examined. Documented and The City followed A.M. and M.F., a couple from Honduras who are experiencing the aftermath of a raid. A.M. was violently arrested by ICE agents in 2019 at his home in Rego Park, Queens. The arrest threw the family into a tailspin, who having just arrived to New York City recently after fleeing extreme violence in Honduras, was already facing insurmountable challenges.
Documented’s Mazin Sidahmed and The City’s Claudia Irizarry Aponte, followed the family for six months, interviewing them for hours and following A.M.’s immigration court hearings. The resulting story was published on both newsrooms websites and won an award from Editor & Publisher magazine for Best Collaborative Investigative/Enterprise Reporting for newsrooms with under 1 million unique monthly visitors.
