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Arya Sundaram

@aryasundaram.bsky.social
839 followers 34 following 52 posts

NYC race + migration reporter for Gothamist/WNYC • past lives @nytimes.com @texastribune.org • words also in @theatlantic.com @theguardian.com @nymag.com • whatsapp/signal = 512-650-8767

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Arya Sundaram @aryasundaram.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
NEW: A second ICE detainee at the Delaney Hall detention center in Newark, NJ died this weekend. His mother says he wasn't given prescribed meds for diabetes, seizures, and blood pressure, which ICE denies. w/ @michaelsolwarren.com gothamist.com/news/second-...
gothamist.com
Second detainee dies after being held at Delaney Hall ICE detention center
The family alleges Edwin Jovanny Lopez Cornejo was denied needed medication while detained. ICE says he received appropriate medical care and prescribed medication.
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Arya Sundaram @aryasundaram.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
I found over 70 federal lawsuits alleging medical neglect and deficiencies at Delaney Hall ICE detention center in Newark, NJ. “It’s a systemic issue that the facility is facing and they’re not correctly addressing.” @menendez.house.gov 1/🧵 gothamist.com/news/wait-fo...
gothamist.com
'Wait for my wife to die?': Delaney Hall detainees sue ICE over medical neglect
The Newark facility has been hit with dozens of legal complaints alleging poor medical care.
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The Brian Lehrer Show @thebrianlehrershow.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
@gothamist.com reporter @aryasundaram.bsky.social & Charles Stile, political columnist at The Record/Northjersey.com, talk about the latest news from Delaney Hall, and the NJ primaries: wnyc.org/browse/shows...
wnyc.org
New Jersey Political News Roundup: Delaney Hall Updates & NJ Primaries | WNYC
Arya Sundaram breaks down the latest at Delaney Hall and Charles Stile previews the NJ congressional primaries.
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Arya Sundaram @aryasundaram.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
. @michaelsolwarren.com has been out at Delaney Hall all day for @wnyc.org @gothamist.com covering the events unfolding inside and outside the ICE detention center. Read our reporting below.
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Arya Sundaram @aryasundaram.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
NEW: ICE officers just beat and used tear gas on detainees at Delaney Hall detention center in Newark, NJ, per family members of people inside. This is as the hunger/labor strike at the facility continues for its seventh fay. gothamist.com/news/family-...
gothamist.com
Family, activists allege Newark immigration center guards beat and used gas on detainees
Gothamist saw multiple people taken out on stretchers and transported away in Ambulances.
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Gothamist @gothamist.com · 27/05/2026
Federal trial reveals ICE knew about 'insane' crowding in NYC holding cells gothamist.com/news/federal...
gothamist.com
Federal trial reveals ICE knew about 'insane' crowding in NYC holding cells
In emails and testimony, ICE agents acknowledged unsafe conditions at holding areas for immigrants.
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Arya Sundaram @aryasundaram.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
Immigrants held at Delaney Hall ICE detention center are alleging retaliation for the ongoing hunger/labor strike, per elected officials and advocates, including: - revocation of phone and tablet privileges - more transfers between units - more dorm checks - no coffee
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Michael Sol Warren @michaelsolwarren.com · 22/05/2026
Delaney Hall detainees launch hunger, labor strike. From @aryasundaram.bsky.social gothamist.com/news/immigra...
gothamist.com
Immigrants at NJ Delaney Hall ICE detention center go on hunger, labor strike
Detainees have complained of deplorable conditions, including what they call physical and psychological torture from substandard food.
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Arya Sundaram @aryasundaram.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
NEW: Immigrants at the Delaney Hall ICE detention center in NJ began a hunger and labor strike this AM. Local advocates and a wife of one of the detained organizers say there are hundreds of participants across multiple units, demanding their freedom. gothamist.com/news/immigra...
gothamist.com
Immigrants at NJ Delaney Hall ICE detention center go on hunger, labor strike
Detainees have complained of deplorable conditions, including what they call physical and psychological torture from substandard food.
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Arya Sundaram @aryasundaram.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
A Downtown Manhattan parking garage has removed alleged ICE vehicles following local activists' protest. gothamist.com/news/finding...
gothamist.com
Manhattan parking garage yanks spaces for feds after group claims ICE parked there
Local anti-immigrant activists protested the presence of federal government vehicles in a private garage downtown.
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Arya Sundaram @aryasundaram.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
Fears of ICE are driving customers away in NYC's immigrant neighborhoods, local business surveys show. In Jackson Heights, Corona, and Sunset Park nearly 80% of surveyed businesses reported being impacted by ICE. gothamist.com/news/in-suns...
gothamist.com
In Sunset Park, businesses blame fear of ICE for slowdown
The toll on businesses in immigrant-rich neighborhoods in Brooklyn and Queens is showing up in new surveys.
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Arya Sundaram @aryasundaram.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
NEW video shows Chidozie Okeke's car after he was arrested by ICE in Bushwick. Eyewitnesses say ICE officers smashed the passenger-side window. Okeke's arrest and hospitalization spurred protests of hundreds of people outside Wyckoff hospital on Saturday night.
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Arya Sundaram @aryasundaram.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
ICYMI: He went to report crime to an upstate NY sheriff’s office. Instead, ICE arrested him. gothamist.com/news/he-went...
gothamist.com
He went to report crime to an upstate NY sheriff. Instead, ICE arrested him.
The case arises as state lawmakers are considering new limits on cooperation between local police and federal immigration officers.
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Arya Sundaram @aryasundaram.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
Did NYPD violate city sanctuary laws by clearing the way for ICE to leave amid protests at Wyckoff hospital in Bushwick on Saturday night? Here what a guy who helped write the laws said, Peter Markowitz, a Cardozo law professor. gothamist.com/news/mamdani...
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Arya Sundaram @aryasundaram.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
New NYC Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs commissioner Faiza Ali testifying on how the office was hamstrung under former mayor Eric Adams: “ It's no secret that under the previous mayor, MOIA was constrained by an administration that undermined the role of our office…"
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The Brian Lehrer Show @thebrianlehrershow.bsky.social · 27/02/2026
@wnyc.org & @gothamist.com reporters @aryasundaram.bsky.social & @brigidbergin.bsky.social talk about the Columbia student who was detained by ICE; Mayor Mamdani's trip to the White House & more. Listen: www.wnyc.org/story/ice-at...
wnyc.org
ICE at Columbia | The Brian Lehrer Show | WNYC
WNYC and Gothamist's Arya Sundaram and Brigid Bergin talk about Mayor Mamdani's surprise trip to the White House and subsequent release of a Columbia University student detained by DHS.
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Arya Sundaram @aryasundaram.bsky.social · 20/02/2026
NJ lawmakers introduce the FUCK ICE Act. The bill "permits civil action for violations of US Constitution related to immigration enforcement."
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Arya Sundaram @aryasundaram.bsky.social · 20/02/2026
Remember those ICE raids on Canal St. last fall targeting West African street vendors? Federal judges have ordered the release of at least 3 of the 10 men detained, arguing their arrests were unlawful. gothamist.com/news/judges-...
gothamist.com
Judges free Canal Street vendors arrested by ICE, question legality of raids
Department of Homeland Security officials said the arrests were part of “targeted” operations to crack down on the illegal sale of counterfeit goods.
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Arya Sundaram @aryasundaram.bsky.social · 10/02/2026
Mayor Zohran Mamdani is assembling an internal team to respond to a potential ICE crackdown in NYC and other federal "crises." gothamist.com/news/mayor-m...
gothamist.com
Mayor Mamdani assembles ICE response team following President Trump's threats to NYC
The Interagency Response Committee will plan for and respond to any "crisis" brought by the federal government, his administration says.
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Arya Sundaram @aryasundaram.bsky.social · 06/02/2026
Armed immigration officers entered a Brooklyn man’s home last summer without a judicial warrant or his consent, arrested him, and took his personal documents. That’s according to a lawsuit advocating for his release. gothamist.com/news/ice-kno...
gothamist.com
ICE knocks on a door in Brooklyn. A 'traumatic nightmare' follows.
Immigration enforcement officers stormed the home without a judicial warrant or the occupants' consent, according to a legal challenge.
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Arya Sundaram @aryasundaram.bsky.social · 20/01/2026
A NYC Council analyst is among a growing number of immigrants detained at asylum offices in NY and across the US. I uncovered 14 other ICE arrests at interviews at the New York asylum office in Bethpage, NY and several others across the country. gothamist.com/news/sign-of...
gothamist.com
'Sign of the times': NY asylum-seekers arrested at routine immigration appointments
More than a dozen local immigrants have been arrested when appearing for scheduled meetings, according to a review.
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Arya Sundaram @aryasundaram.bsky.social · 19/12/2025
Jean Wilson Brutus, a 41-year-old Haitian immigrant, died at a hospital after he had a medical emergency at the Delaney Hall detention center in Newark, NJ.
ice.gov
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Arya Sundaram @aryasundaram.bsky.social · 19/12/2025
Reps. Dan Goldman and Adriano Espaillat were just granted entry to inspect the ICE holding cells at 26 Federal Plaza in NYC for the first time, following multiple attempts. That's after a judge on Wed ordered ICE to allow Congress members to inspect ICE field offices.
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Arya Sundaram @aryasundaram.bsky.social · 18/12/2025
A federal judge has ordered ICE to allow Congress members to inspect the migrant hold rooms at 26 Federal Plaza in NYC and elsewhere across the country. The judge also blocked ICE from requiring members to give a week's notice before visits. gothamist.com/news/federal...
gothamist.com
Federal judge orders ICE to allow Congress members to visit migrant hold rooms in NY
Democratic lawmakers have repeatedly been turned away when seeking to conduct oversight visits.
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Eduardo Cuevas @cuevasreports.bsky.social · 15/12/2025
“‘The extreme show of force here — seven armed agents in facemasks — was to intimidate staff so they could arrest our client in contravention of city law,’ Molly Lauterback, an immigration attorney with Brooklyn Defender Services, said in a statement.”
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Arya Sundaram @aryasundaram.bsky.social · 15/12/2025
My latest months-long investigation: Inside the surge in ICE visits to NYC homeless shelters under the Trump administration. Several incidents raise questions about whether city staff and federal agents are following the laws. gothamist.com/news/ice-ent...
gothamist.com
ICE enters NYC shelters armed and without judicial warrants, reports show
Here's how 'incident reports' detail interactions between federal immigration enforcement officers and staff at city shelters for immigrants.
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Arya Sundaram @aryasundaram.bsky.social · 15/12/2025
NYC shelter staff violated city sanctuary laws at least three times earlier this year -- according to lawyers who reviewed incident reports I obtained. Staff gave ICE and DHS info about a former resident and let them enter private spaces of shelters, reports show. gothamist.com/news/ice-ent...
gothamist.com
ICE enters NYC shelters armed and without judicial warrants, reports show
Here's how 'incident reports' detail interactions between federal immigration enforcement officers and staff at city shelters for immigrants.
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Arya Sundaram @aryasundaram.bsky.social · 30/09/2025
An ICE officer pushed a photojournalist to the ground today at immigration court at 26 Federal Plaza in NYC. The photojournalist couldn't get up afterwards, and EMS was called.
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Arya Sundaram @aryasundaram.bsky.social · 18/09/2025
BREAKING: Eleven NY city and state elected officials were just arrested by Department of Homeland Security officers. That's after they demanded to inspect ICE holding rooms at 26 Federal Plaza and refused to leave until they were granted entry.
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Arya Sundaram @aryasundaram.bsky.social · 18/09/2025
JUST NOW: NYC Comptroller @bradlander.bsky.social was arrested by DHS police a SECOND time at 26 Federal Plaza. Lander refused to leave the 10th floor until he was allowed to inspect ICE holding cells there. He was arrested with 10 other state elected officials.
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Arya Sundaram @aryasundaram.bsky.social · 18/08/2025
The Trump admin has moved to restart thousands of paused immigration court cases -- another tactic in the "mass deportation" effort. gothamist.com/news/these-n...
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Arya Sundaram @aryasundaram.bsky.social · 12/08/2025
BREAKING: A federal judge has issued a temporary restraining order requiring that ICE holding cells at 26 Federal Plaza meet certain minimum conditions. ICE is now required to provide beds, toothbrushes, and calls with attorneys within 24 hours of being detained.
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Arya Sundaram @aryasundaram.bsky.social · 08/08/2025
A crowd of roughly 60 protestors chant "No human being will ever be illegal!" outside 26 Federal Plaza, where ICE agents are routinely detaining immigrants after immigration court proceedings
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Arya Sundaram @aryasundaram.bsky.social · 06/08/2025
NY Reps @danielsgoldman.dg4ny.co @repespaillat.bsky.social @velazquez.house.gov visit Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, which is holding ICE detainees, for an unannounced oversight visit. Espaillat asked a masked federal officer, “Can I see your face?” The officer refused.
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Eileen Clancy 🧿 @clancyny.bsky.social · 14/07/2025
A big deal. As @aryasundaram.bsky.social explains, sponsors intend this bill to “decriminalize” street vending. Like the 19th century Lower East Side pushcart peddlers were, many vendors are immigrants. Police ticketing vendors brings criminal charges, now putting them at risk for targeting by ICE.
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The Brian Lehrer Show @thebrianlehrershow.bsky.social · 14/07/2025
Today: - Meet mayoral candidate @jimfornyc.bsky.social, - @brigidbergin.bsky.social on local politics, - @wsj.com's Allison Pohle on TSA changes, - @aryasundaram.bsky.social on an ICE facility in Manhattan, - Columbia Law's Elora Mukherjee on TPS rollbacks Live at 10 on 93.9 FM, AM820 or @wnyc.org
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Gothamist @gothamist.com · 09/07/2025
‘They’re killing us’: Immigrants complain of inhumane conditions inside NYC holding site gothamist.com/news/theyre-killing-u…
gothamist.com
‘They’re killing us’: Immigrants complain of inhumane conditions inside NYC holding site
A masked federal agent looks directly at the camera as someone is detained and brought downstairs at 26 Federal Plaza. Immigrants complain of cramped conditions, inadequate food and bathing facilities and sleeping on concrete floors. [ more › ]
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Arya Sundaram @aryasundaram.bsky.social · 09/07/2025
NEW: Immigrants complain of inhumane conditions at ICE holding cells in NYC. No showers or changing clothes. Sometimes only one meal per day. Over 100 people in small rooms. Sleeping on benches, the floor, or sitting up, due to lack of space. gothamist.com/news/theyre-...
gothamist.com
‘They’re killing us’: Immigrants complain of inhumane conditions inside NYC holding site
Immigrants complain of cramped conditions, inadequate food and bathing facilities and sleeping on concrete floors.
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Arya Sundaram @aryasundaram.bsky.social · 08/07/2025
"Come witness for yourself" @bradlander.bsky.social urges New Yorkers and elected officials to observe immigration court hearings at 26 Federal Plaza.
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Arya Sundaram @aryasundaram.bsky.social · 18/06/2025
Reps. Nadler and Goldman were barred today from inspecting ICE holding cells at 26 Federal Plaza. That’s after Reps. Velazquez and Espaillat tried to do the same earlier this month. gothamist.com/news/reps-na...
gothamist.com
Reps. Nadler and Goldman barred from inspecting ICE holding cells in NYC
An official told the lawmakers that immigrants slept on the floor and on benches overnight, but said the facility was no detention center.
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Arya Sundaram @aryasundaram.bsky.social · 18/06/2025
Congressmen Jerry Nadler and Dan Goldman enter 26 Federal Plaza to observe immigration court and ICE offices. Rep Lander was detained here yesterday.
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Gwynne Hogan @gwynnefitz.bsky.social · 17/06/2025
Here's a longer video of Brad Lander's detention just now inside 26 Federal Plaza as he tried to walk a man out of immigration court, by masked federal agents.
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Arya Sundaram @aryasundaram.bsky.social · 16/06/2025
ICE has made at least about a dozen arrests in recent weeks in Home Depots in New Rochelle and Long Island, according to advocates and witnesses. gothamist.com/news/immigra...
gothamist.com
Immigration police making their presence known at NYC-area Home Depots
Even where there have been no arrests, workers say they fear being detained.
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Arya Sundaram @aryasundaram.bsky.social · 12/06/2025
Dylan, the Bronx high school student arrested by ICE, speaks out from immigration detention. “All I want is to go home so I can continue studying, to see the people who I love, and to be free.” gothamist.com/news/dylan-b...
gothamist.com
Dylan, Bronx high school student arrested by ICE, speaks out from immigration detention
“All I want is to go home so I can continue studying, to see the people who I love, and to be free,” Dylan said in a statement translated by his attorneys.
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Arya Sundaram @aryasundaram.bsky.social · 12/06/2025
The Department of Justice is suing NY state for its law blocking ICE from going to state and local courts. www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justi...
justice.gov
Justice Department Files Lawsuit to Stop New York’s Unlawful “Protect Our Courts Act” from Obstructing Immigration Enforcement
WASHINGTON - On Thursday, the United States filed a complaint against the State of New York, challenging state policies that blocked immigration officials from arresting individuals at or near New Yor...
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Arya Sundaram @aryasundaram.bsky.social · 11/06/2025
An undocumented couple was arrested for shoplifting $160 worth of merchandise in Rotterdam, NY. Local police separated them from their daughter and handed them over to ICE. It's one of the first known applications of the Laken Riley Act in New York state. gothamist.com/news/how-a-s...
gothamist.com
How a shoplifting arrest in upstate NY summoned ICE and separated a family
The case represents one of the first tests of the Laken Riley Law in the state.
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Harms Committed @harmscommitted.com · 06/06/2025
"New surveillance video shared with Gothamist shows that a U.S. Department of Homeland Security officer pushed a staffer in Rep. Jerry Nadler's Manhattan office before she pushed him back and was subsequently handcuffed." #NewYork #USA #Deportation #Policing
gothamist.com
Exclusive: New video shows tussle between Rep. Nadler staffer and federal officers
Rep. Jerry Nadler’s office has shared hours of surveillance footage with Gothamist showing U.S. Department of Homeland Security officers handcuffing a staffer.
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Harms Committed @harmscommitted.com · 05/06/2025
"Gothamist observed at least 14 people, including 10 men and four women, being escorted by masked plainclothes officers after appearing for check-ins Wednesday at the 7 Elk St. office." "At least one of the officers wore an ICE badge." #NewYork #USA #Deportation
gothamist.com
Families split up as several immigrants arrested at ICE check-in center in Manhattan
"I can't. Please don't go," the wife of one man cried out.
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Rachel Holliday Smith @rachelholliday.bsky.social · 04/06/2025
“Three women who also received the message and came to the office on Tuesday told THE CITY they were instructed to return on Wednesday — but this time to bring their children with them.” harrowing new reporting from @gwynnefitz.bsky.social:
thecity.nyc
ICE Turns Required Check-Ins Into Arrest Dragnet in Lower Manhattan
Reporters for THE CITY witnessed vehicles hauling away 16 people in handcuffs from an office where immigrants in deportation cases were summoned to sudden appointments.
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Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 31/05/2025
NYT: “The episode was recorded by someone who was sitting in Mr. Nadler’s office. In the video, an officer with the Federal Protective Service, part of the Department of Homeland Security, is shown demanding access to a private area inside the office.” @nytimes.com www.nytimes.com/2025/05/31/n...
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