A month after he was taken into custody at his own immigration hearing, Aleksander Nilaj, the founder of one of the Bronx’s best-known food pantries, remains in ICE detention.
Nilaj was detained on October 13 when he appeared for a scheduled hearing at immigration court. He was taken to Delaney Hall, the detention center in Newark, New Jersey.
The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement that Nilaj is in the country illegally from Albania, that he received due process, and that an immigration judge ordered his removal on July 22, 2008.
Rep. Ritchie Torres has said Nilaj has no criminal record and no charges against him, and that his lawyer would seek his release through a habeas corpus petition. A federal judge in New Jersey, Michael Farbiarz, has barred authorities from transferring him out of the state. No ruling on his release has been reported.
Nilaj founded the Albanian American Open Hand Association in 2012. The pantry, at 821 Lydig Avenue in the Pelham Parkway area, feeds between 7,000 and 8,000 people a month.
Since his arrest, the pantry has stopped distributing food. The Mosholu Montefiore Community Center has agreed to take in its food in the meantime so it can still reach families in need.
