Multimedia social justice reporter @ NJ Spotlight News/NJPBS.✌️https://bsky.app/profile/taylorjung.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/taylorjung.bsky.social/post/3mcujyikatc2rAs his final act in office, Gov. Murphy declined to sign key immigrant rights protections into law, fearing it would open the state up to federal action. Advocates say this leaves swaths of families vulnerable as ICE enforcement escalates nationwide. https://njurbannews.com/2026/01/20/murphy-vetoes-nj-immigrant-protection-bills-safe-communities-act/20 Jan 2026 16:06 +0000at://did:plc:mdxjtgg2pndvbv4hrig5jftb/app.bsky.feed.post/3mcujyikatc2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/taylorjung.bsky.social/post/3m3nkkabhgc2yFreelancing with a small community outlet that covered the protests in NJ! https://njurbannews.com/2025/10/20/no-kings-protests-sweep-nj-amid-movement-against-trump-policies/ [contains quote post or other embedded content]20 Oct 2025 19:31 +0000at://did:plc:mdxjtgg2pndvbv4hrig5jftb/app.bsky.feed.post/3m3nkkabhgc2yhttps://bsky.app/profile/taylorjung.bsky.social/post/3lupoxfyzac2tMy latest, for @chalkbeat.org: El Puente, a leading environmental justice organization in Brooklyn, is fighting for its future after losing a $3M EPA grant due to cuts by the Trump administration. Decades of youth leadership and community work are at risk. https://www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2025/07/23/brooklyn-el-puente-youth-advocacy-environmental-justice-threatened-by-trump-cuts/24 Jul 2025 13:59 +0000at://did:plc:mdxjtgg2pndvbv4hrig5jftb/app.bsky.feed.post/3lupoxfyzac2thttps://bsky.app/profile/taylorjung.bsky.social/post/3ltzfrmabcs2b"Victoria Lee should be alive...we do not, today, find any hope or reason in the workings of the law in New Jersey." - Statement from AAPI NJ @dosocialjustice.bsky.social @njaij.bsky.social @zellieimani.bsky.social @stopaapihate.org @faithinnewjersey.bsky.social https://njurbannews.com/2025/07/15/victoria-lee-grand-jury-declines-charge/15 Jul 2025 17:16 +0000at://did:plc:mdxjtgg2pndvbv4hrig5jftb/app.bsky.feed.post/3ltzfrmabcs2bhttps://bsky.app/profile/taylorjung.bsky.social/post/3lsydynxcsk2oZohran Mamdani’s NYC mayoral primary win is inspiring hope and action across the river in NJ. Organizers and young voters see his campaign as a blueprint for change. They're pushing local leaders to listen to working families. By Priyanka Bansal, edited by me: https://njurbannews.com/2025/07/02/mamdanis-win-sparks-hope-for-many-new-jerseyans/02 Jul 2025 13:46 +0000at://did:plc:mdxjtgg2pndvbv4hrig5jftb/app.bsky.feed.post/3lsydynxcsk2ohttps://bsky.app/profile/taylorjung.bsky.social/post/3lrxxh2r2ks2oThe New Jersey Institute for Social Justice released its landmark report on Juneteenth, providing sweeping policy proposals to enact reparations in NJ. It also provided a detailed history on why NJ is called “the slave state of the North.” My latest: https://njurbannews.com/2025/06/19/new-jersey-council-recommends-reparations-policies-in-historic-report/19 Jun 2025 16:36 +0000at://did:plc:mdxjtgg2pndvbv4hrig5jftb/app.bsky.feed.post/3lrxxh2r2ks2ohttps://bsky.app/profile/taylorjung.bsky.social/post/3lrtgfv726s2tBurning water, insufficient food, toxic air. These are the conditions people faced inside a Newark immigrant detention facility leading up to last week's protests. My latest: [contains quote post or other embedded content]17 Jun 2025 21:21 +0000at://did:plc:mdxjtgg2pndvbv4hrig5jftb/app.bsky.feed.post/3lrtgfv726s2thttps://bsky.app/profile/taylorjung.bsky.social/post/3lknyjbkgzs22Over two years later, a state grand jury has decided not to criminally charge officers that killed #NajeeSeabrooks. His killing sparked a watershed movement in NJ, where advocates + communities pushed for police reform and non-law enforcement crisis emergency response programs.18 Mar 2025 15:32 +0000at://did:plc:mdxjtgg2pndvbv4hrig5jftb/app.bsky.feed.post/3lknyjbkgzs22https://bsky.app/profile/taylorjung.bsky.social/post/3lkbtznlhxc2oAfter seven years, my time at NJ Spotlight News has come to an end. I'm leaving with immense gratitude for the stories I've told and the people I've met. I'm excited for what's next and remain passionate about social justice reporting.13 Mar 2025 19:40 +0000at://did:plc:mdxjtgg2pndvbv4hrig5jftb/app.bsky.feed.post/3lkbtznlhxc2ohttps://bsky.app/profile/taylorjung.bsky.social/post/3lk4ku633ls2aMahmoud Khalil's case is, unfortunately, not unique. Families are showing up to NJ's detention center, only to find out their loved ones are no longer there. It's becoming more difficult for families and lawyers to locate detainees. My latest: https://www.njspotlightnews.org/2025/03/ice-detainee-families-say-heightened-stress-as-difficult-track-detainees-in-system/11 Mar 2025 17:13 +0000at://did:plc:mdxjtgg2pndvbv4hrig5jftb/app.bsky.feed.post/3lk4ku633ls2ahttps://bsky.app/profile/taylorjung.bsky.social/post/3ljn7t5fsx22vExpired food. Drinking water from their hands. Conditions are deteriorating at New Jersey's only immigrant detention center. Advocates are sounding the alarm as plans move forward for a new facility that will quadruple the state's detention capacity. https://www.njspotlightnews.org/2025/03/new-jersey-immigrant-advocates-dread-new-ice-detention-center-fear-more-arrests/05 Mar 2025 14:45 +0000at://did:plc:mdxjtgg2pndvbv4hrig5jftb/app.bsky.feed.post/3ljn7t5fsx22vhttps://bsky.app/profile/taylorjung.bsky.social/post/3ljb3nvt47s2nbeing neurodivergent means figuring out every day (maybe every hour) what scrunched up position you're going to work in28 Feb 2025 18:59 +0000at://did:plc:mdxjtgg2pndvbv4hrig5jftb/app.bsky.feed.post/3ljb3nvt47s2nhttps://bsky.app/profile/taylorjung.bsky.social/post/3lj66bjtcs22nICE announced it will turn Delaney Hall into NJ's next detention center. Geo Group is the company which responded to ICE's original RFP. It also filed a complaint against NJ, which is currently battling CoreCivic over its law that (effectively) bans detention centers. https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/ice-expands-detention-capacity-delaney-hall-facility-new-jersey27 Feb 2025 15:08 +0000at://did:plc:mdxjtgg2pndvbv4hrig5jftb/app.bsky.feed.post/3lj66bjtcs22nhttps://bsky.app/profile/taylorjung.bsky.social/post/3likdefz5kk2qThe 3/1 deadline approaches for the DOJ to find institutions to criminally prosecute for "illegal DEI" practices. But law experts say it's not clear what criminal laws these programs violate. “DEI has basically...been turned into...a not-so-subtle racial slur,” said David Lopez, former EEOC counsel. https://www.njspotlightnews.org/2025/02/chilling-effect-trump-administration-attacking-dei-will-courts-decide/19 Feb 2025 17:46 +0000at://did:plc:mdxjtgg2pndvbv4hrig5jftb/app.bsky.feed.post/3likdefz5kk2q