Isabelle Taft covers immigration for New York Focus through Report for America. Prior to joining Focus, she was a reporting fellow on the National desk at the New York Times, covering breaking news around the United States and writing about criminal justice, higher education and immigration. Before that, she spent four years in Mississippi reporting for Mississippi Today, the Biloxi Sun Herald and ProPublica. Her investigation into Mississippi’s practice of jailing people with no criminal charges to await mental health treatment helped lead lawmakers to overhaul the involuntary commitment process there. Taft’s first full-time journalism job was copy editing at Viet Nam News in Hanoi. She speaks Spanish and is proud to be from Atlanta.
Beat: Immigration coverage in New York state
This reporter chronicles the experiences of immigrants throughout New York state and investigates the state and local political actors that shape them. As the Trump administration ramps up deportations and as millions of recently-arrived asylum seekers struggle to live and work in New York, this reporter tackles an urgent issue at the heart of New York's present and future.