{"id":378261,"date":"2026-10-20T21:06:31","date_gmt":"2026-10-20T21:06:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/378261\/"},"modified":"2026-10-20T21:06:31","modified_gmt":"2026-10-20T21:06:31","slug":"beloved-albanian-bronx-food-pantry-founder-detained-by-ice-leaving-thousands-without-food-aid-bronx-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/378261\/","title":{"rendered":"Beloved Albanian Bronx food pantry founder detained by ICE, leaving thousands without food aid \u2013 Bronx Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Aleksander Nilaj, a food pantry founder and beloved member of the Albanian-American community in the Bronx, was detained by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Oct. 13, sending shockwaves through the Bronx.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Albanian American Open Hand Association<\/a> (AAOHA) said that Nilaj was detained while attending an immigration court appearance. He is currently detained at Delaney Hall Detention Center in New Jersey.<\/p>\n

Nilaj founded the food pantry<\/a>\u00a0in 2012, originally delivering food packages, school supplies<\/a>, and other community needs in the Pelham Parkway neighborhood. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, demand soared, serving 7,000 to 8,000 people a month, according to the organization. The food pantry, located on Lydig Avenue, said the food pantry will not operate<\/a> until Nilaj is released from detention.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHe is the most magnificent person. He cares about the community\u2026 He is well liked by the entire community,\u201d said Edith Blitzer, who manages the building that Nilaj worked as a superintendent in.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe love him. He\u2019s like another son to me. His wife and children are terrific. What more can I say? This never should have happened,\u201d Blitzer said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"OpenOpen Hand Association Food Pantry Founder Aleksander Nilaj (left) Council Member Kristy Marmorato (fourth from right) and her daughter (fifth from right) with a family after receiving their gifts of choice. Photo by Jewel Webber<\/p>\n

Blitzer said Nilaj had pre-existing health conditions, including a bad back. Rep. Ritchie Torres, who has been\u00a0 sounding the alarm about conditions<\/a> at Delaney Hall, including inadequate health care, visited Nilaj at the detention center and called for his release.<\/p>\n

\u201c[Aleksander] never turns anyone away. Whenever there is a tragedy that strikes the Bronx, [Aleksander] is the first one on the ground,\u201d Rep. Torres said in an Instagram video, stating that his team had been partnering<\/a> with him for decades.<\/p>\n

\u201cDonald Trump\u2019s policy of mass deportation is tearing communities and families apart. Detaining a man who has dedicated his life to feeding those in need, is not justice, its cruelty,\u201d Rep. Torres said in the video.<\/p>\n

\"|AAOHA(Left to right) Shabbir Gul from ICNA Relief USA; Aleksander Nilaj, AAOHA president and founder; Edith Blitzer. Pelham Parkway Neighborhood Association president. Photo by Miriam Quinn.<\/p>\n

Bronx Community Board 11, which serves Pelham Parkway, wrote a letter on Nilaj\u2019s behalf to an immigration judge, urging that he be released on bond, based on his significant service to the community and lack of criminal history.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve known him a long time. [He\u2019s] a very friendly, positive person. He works hard,\u201d said Bronx Community Board 11 District Manager Jeremy Warneke. \u201cHe\u2019s one of the nicest people you could ever meet.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Oct. 1, a federal judge tossed out a lawsuit by the Trump administration to block<\/a> New York City\u2019s sanctuary laws, stating that U.S government cannot force local governments to comply with immigration enforcement. The Department of Homeland Security claimed that immigration enforcement targets those who have entered the country unlawfully and have criminal records.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Data analyzed by Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse show that over 70% of immigrants detained have no prior criminal history.<\/a><\/p>\n

A spokesperson for DHS claimed that Nilaj received \u201cdue process\u201d and his removal was ordered by an immigration judge on July 22, 2008.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cOn October 13, 2026, ICE arrested Aleksander Nilaj, an illegal alien from Albania. He legally entered the U.S. on a temporary basis on October 1, 2006 and illegally overstayed his lawful admittance in violation of our laws,\u201d a DHS spokesperson said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThis administration will not ignore the rule of law.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Aleksander Nilaj, a food pantry founder and beloved member of the Albanian-American community in the Bronx, was detained…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":378262,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[32249,89834,138941,138942,128,138943,127091,95020,2035,2301,138944,9,24,63,138945,2457,129,131,130,26331],"class_list":["post-378261","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-the-bronx","tag-albania","tag-albanian-american","tag-albanian-american-open-hand-association","tag-aleksander-nilaj","tag-bronx","tag-bronx-community-board-11","tag-cb11","tag-delaney-hall","tag-ice","tag-immigration","tag-immigration-and-customs-enfrocement","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-open-hand","tag-ritchie-torres","tag-the-bronx","tag-the-bronx-headlines","tag-the-bronx-news","tag-uscis"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/378261","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=378261"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/378261\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/378262"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=378261"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=378261"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=378261"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}