Amir Khafagy

Amir Khafagy is an award-winning New York City-based journalist. He is currently the Senior Labor Reporter with Documented NY. Much of Amir's beat explores the intersections of labor, race, class, immigration, and urban policy.


His writing has been featured in The Guardian, Vice, The New Republic, New York Mag, The City, Bloomberg, Prism, Documented, The Appeal, Dame, The American Prospect, Jacobin, and In These Times. Additionally, Amir has worked as a researcher for the critically acclaimed podcast Serial. 

Previously, Amir was a Report for America Corps member. He has been awarded the 2022 LION Local Journalism Accountability Award, Type Investigations 2021 Ida B. Wells Fellowship, The Sidney Hillman Foundation's Reporting the U.S. Workplace Program, The Newmark J-School 2021 Education Reporting Scholarship, The International Center for Journalists COVID-19 Reporting Award, The New Economics Reporting Fellowship, The Economic Hardship Reporting Grant, The Talk Poverty Writer Workshop Fellowship, The Asian American Writers Workshop Open City Fellowship, and The AARP Freelance Fellowship. 



Amir holds a BA in Urban Studies and an MA in Urban Affairs from Queens College. 


As a performer, Amir has appeared in Ping Chong & Company's Beyond Sacred: Voices of Muslim Identity. He has also appeared in Gun Country, a Houses on the Moon theatre company production.

A lifelong New Yorker, Amir was born and raised in Jackson Heights, Queens, into a working-class, Muslim, immigrant family. His mother is Puerto Rican, and his father is an immigrant from Egypt. Follow him on Twitter @AmirKhafagy91

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He Went After Trump. Now He’s Going After Bad Bosses.

On May 1, celebrated worldwide as International Workers’ Day, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg delivered a gift for employees at a Midtown sports bar.  Owners of La Macarena Restaurant & Sport Bar at West 48th Street were indicted for allegedly stealing tens of thousands of dollars in worker wages between 2021 and 2025. Although the restaurant closed in January 2025, at least six employees are still owed a total of more than $35,000 in unpaid wages.
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Let There Be Light: City's First Delivery Worker Hub Sits Empty Due to Lack of Power

On April 7, the city cut the ribbon on the country’s first delivery worker hub to much fanfare.  Located at 249 Broadway, right outside City Hall, the long-delayed hub was unveiled as one of the seminal triumphs of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s first 100 days in office.  The conversion of an abandoned newsstand into a center for delivery workers to charge their batteries, rest, repair their bikes, and gain access to information on street safety was the realization of a dream by members of the Wor...
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“Scabby the Rat” Still Allowed Outside of Educational Facilities After Mamdani Veto

Scabby the Rat — the unofficial mascot of labor picket lines in New York City — just won a major battle in the fight to protect protesters’ rights On Friday, Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced that he’s vetoing legislation that would have given the NYPD power to establish anti-protest buffer zones outside schools and educational institutions. Critics of Int. 175-B, including city labor unions, say the bill would have severely hampered free speech. The bill grew out of concern that the protests against what many regard as a genocide in Gaza could cause upheaval on local campuses.
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Home Care Workers End Hunger Strike on Apparent Deal — But Future of ‘No More 24’ Bill Still in Limbo

The weeklong hunger strike by 15 elderly immigrant home care workers to end 24-hour shifts in the home care industry is coming to an end.  The workers said they reached a deal with City Council Speaker Julie Menin Wednesday night, in which she promised to introduce the No More 24 Act to a vote on May 14. Although workers, who are part of the Ain’t I a Woman?! campaign, hoped that the speaker would introduce the bill sooner, they are willing to pause their hunger strike.
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Report: Airport Contractor Named One of America’s Worst Employers

Workers at New York’s three major airports have had to endure extreme heat, unsafe working conditions, and wage theft. And this week — which happens to be Workers Memorial Week — their employer, Alliance Ground International (AGI), has been cited in a new report as one of the worst employers in the country. In its annual “Dirty Dozen” Report, the National Conference on Occupational Safety and Health (National COSH), which cites Documented’s reporting, flagged AGI for numerous workplace safety violations across the country.
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Gov. Hochul Moves to Block City Bill Banning 24-hour Home Care Shifts: Sources Say

The behind-the-scenes opposition to legislation that would ban 24-hour shifts for home health aides is apparently growing, with Gov. Kathy Hochul pushing to block the bill from even coming up for a vote, two sources with direct knowledge of the situation told Documented. The sources told Documented that Hochul has been pressuring City Council Speaker Julie Menin to withdraw the No More 24 Act before the City Council can vote on it. They said that the governor has threatened to withhold funding for the expected increased Medicaid costs that could accompany the bill becoming law. The new revelations come as elderly immigrant home care workers embark on a hunger strike on Thursday in an effort to pressure Menin to bring the bill to a vote.
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Labor of Love? Mamdani’s Record with Workers in His First 100 Days

Within 100 days of becoming mayor, Mamdani has kept a jam-packed schedule of public appearances. He has fixed potholes, personally answered 311 calls, and even announced a multimillion-dollar settlement with delivery app HungryPanda alongside an endangered Red Panda at the Prospect Park Zoo. He’s done all that with his trademark smile. But aside from the smiles and handshakes, the question remains: Has Mamdani delivered on his biggest campaign promises to improve the lives of the city’s hundreds of thousands of immigrant workers?
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New York Unveils Nation’s First Delivery Worker Hub

After a long winter, spring has finally sprung in New York — flowers are in bloom, New Yorkers are picnicking in the parks — and outside of City Hall, a long-derelict newsstand has also found new life. Delivery workers – who have long struggled to find a place to shelter from the elements, recharge their e-bikes and themselves — would finally receive on Tuesday a brand-new delivery worker hub, the first of its kind in the country.
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Strike Looms as NYC Residential Building Workers Demand Legal Aid for Immigrants

New York’s 34,000 residential building workers are preparing to take their fight for a new contract to the picket line — and their demands include legal assistance for their immigrant members. On April 15, the residential building workers, represented by their union, 32BJ SEIU, are set to authorize a strike if ongoing contract negotiations hit a dead end with the Realty Advisory Board on Labor Relations (RAB), which represents the New York City residential real estate industry.
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Construction Work Remains the Deadliest Job in New York City, New Data Shows - Documented

New York City is undergoing a major post-pandemic construction boom as its iconic skyline continues to inch ever higher. But with the industry spending $74 billion in new construction, another cost has gone largely unaccounted for: workers’ lives. New data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) shows that construction work remains the deadliest job in New York City.  The city tallied 20 fatal accidents on construction sites in 2024. Though this figure is down from 30 deaths...
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Activists calls on Mamdani to Fund Worker Rights Organizing and Education Initiative

Upon taking office in January, Mayor Mamdani promised to “return the vast resources of this city to the workers who call it home.” Since then, the City Council has passed a slew of new labor protections that aim to improve the lives of working New Yorkers, such as street vendor license reforms and deactivation protections for rideshare drivers. In an effort to spread the word about the new laws, New York City Council Member Harvey Epstein has requested $5 million in funding for the creation of a Worker Rights Organizing and Education Initiative.
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Mamdani Cites Dunkin’ Franchise Owner for Allegedly Violating Workers’ Rights

America may run on Dunkin’, but New York City won’t let Dunkin’ run all over the law. On Tuesday, Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced the filing of an enforcement petition against QSR Management LLC, a Dunkin’ franchisee that operates 21 locations across Staten Island, seeking monetary relief for about 1,000 workers, in addition to civil penalties for violating New York City labor laws. The amount of the penalty has yet to be determined.
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Will Mamdani Support Fight to Ban 24-Hour Shifts for Home Care Workers?

Nearly a hundred mostly immigrant home care workers gathered outside City Hall on Wednesday, wrapped in hats, scarves, and huddled beneath blankets to stage a sit-in and demand that the City Council pass the “No More 24” Act. Just two weeks earlier, the bill, which would abolish back-breaking 24-hour shifts for home care workers, appeared to be on a path to becoming law. However, with the bill set to be voted on by the City Council on Mar. 26, Mayor Zohran Mamdani has signaled his opposition...
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Construction Boss Convicted of Scamming Workers is Rearrested for $50,000 in Wage Theft

A Westchester contractor, exposed by Documented for continuing to operate his construction business despite a conviction for stealing thousands from immigrant workers, has been arrested again on new wage theft charges. Artemio Fuerte, 40 was arrested nearly two weeks ago for allegedly stealing $51,720 in wages from five employees between 2022 and 2025. In an exclusive interview with Documented shortly after his arrest, Fuerte acknowledged that he owes workers money, but said he can’t afford to pay because other people owe him money. Still, he disputes the amount owed and claims his family has faced threats.
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Mamdani’s Proposed Budget Threatens Cuts to Labor and Human Rights Agencies

This year, New York passed a slew of new labor laws aimed at protecting workers’ rights. However, labor advocates say Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s proposed budget is gutting the very agencies that would enforce those laws. While campaigning, Mamdani proposed increasing the budgets for both the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) and the New York Commission on Human Rights (CCHR). Mamdani pledged to double DCWP’s budget to $135 million so the agency could be better equipped to fight labor violations such as wage theft. Citing the Adams administration’s under-staffing of the CCHR, Mamdani pledged to fully fund the agency at $21 million so it can effectively enforce workplace discrimination laws.
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On International Women’s Day, Striking Immigrant Nurses Celebrate Victory

It was a cold and bitter labor battle for the nearly 15,000 nurses who held the picket line for a 41-day-long strike — but it was worth the fight. On Feb. 21, over 4,000 nurses at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital voted overwhelmingly to ratify their new contract, bringing an end to the longest and largest nurses’ strike in New York City history. The vote at NewYork-Presbyterian came weeks after nurses at Montefiore Medical Center and Mount Sinai Health System ended their strikes after 28 days.
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Ahead of New Law, Street Vendors Still Face NYPD Crackdowns

On any given day, Junction Boulevard in Queens is usually buzzing with street life. The rhythms of ranchera and salsa music reverberate as street vendors line both sides of the street, hawking fresh-cut fruit, roasted corn, and grilled meats, with an inviting scent that lingers in the air.   But just two weeks after Zohran Mamdani was sworn in as mayor, on the morning of Jan. 13, the bustling sidewalks fell silent. Officers with the New York Police Department closed off the entire block and s...
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During Ramadan, Muslim Delivery Workers Juggle Food Orders and Faith - Documented

As the sun set on a cold and rainy evening in Brooklyn, over a dozen hungry Muslim delivery workers gathered together on prayer rugs and prepared to break their fasts at the Workers Justice Project’s Williamsburg office.  The small room was filled with men who hail from countries in West Africa and South Asia. They spoke different languages and donned unique, traditional clothing, but despite their inherent differences, their faith and their collective experience as immigrant delivery workers...
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