2026 Eric Allen Outstanding Young Alumni Award Recipient
At a Glance
Degree
Journalism ’09
Field
Journalism
Award Year
2026
Known for
Reporting on immigration and homeland security for the Los Angeles Times and the New York Times
Hamed Aleaziz is a 2009 graduate of the University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication who has been named a finalist for a Livingston Award and a Pulitzer Prize for his reporting on immigration and homeland security. He received the SOJC's 2026 Eric Allen Outstanding Young Alumni Award.
Biography
When Hamed Aleaziz graduated from the UO School of Journalism and Communication (SOJC) in 2009, he was already well-versed in the impact of reporting, especially at a local level. When he was 10 years old, Oregonian reporter Katy Muldoon documented his parents’ immigration ordeal, and the coverage drew attention from U.S. Sen. Gordon Smith and other officials who helped keep the family together. Aleaziz has said Muldoon's name was "revered" in his household growing up, and her example convinced him journalism could change people's lives.
Aleaziz began his career at the San Francisco Chronicle as a breaking news reporter covering crime and disasters in the Bay Area, then moved into immigration coverage as President Trump's first administration clashed with California over enforcement policy. He moved on to BuzzFeed News, where he broke national stories on conditions inside ICE detention facilities and policies restricting immigration, which made him a Livingston Award finalist. He then covered immigration at the Los Angeles Times before joining the New York Times, where he now writes about immigration policy and the Department of Homeland Security.
Aleaziz's reporting during the second Trump administration has tracked the rise in ICE operations nationwide, exposed how arrests were carried out at U.S. airports, and revealed the internal deliberations behind the deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia. That work earned him recognition as a Pulitzer Prize finalist for beat reporting, cited for "deeply moving and insightful" coverage that "held powerful federal agencies to account."
Aleaziz continues reporting on immigration and homeland security from Washington, D.C., carrying forward the lesson he learned as a child—that a single story can change a family's life.