Ally Markovich
As seen in:
Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting,
The New York Times,
HuffPost,
The Washington Post,
Yahoo Singapore,
Princeton Alumni Weekly,
Flipboard,
San Francisco Chronicle,
Berkeleyside,
National Catholic Reporter,
NewsBreak
and
Covers:
Education, climate, housing, business, public health
Journalist
Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting @ArizCIR
Past: Schools @Berkeleyside
🇺🇦
Я говорю по-русски
Articles by Ally Markovich
Asylum win caps immigrant’s 2-year detention as courts weigh 3rd-country deportations
Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting Celestin Dima arrives at U.S. Immigration Court in New York City on Sept. 23, 2026. Celestin Dima walks outside a U.S. Immigration Court in New York City on Sept. 23, 2026. Weeks after Celestin Dima was shackled on a plane and came within hours of being deported to a country where he had never lived, the Burkina Faso native has been granted asylum.
Asylum win caps immigrant’s two-year detention as courts weigh third-country deportations
Weeks after Celestin Dima was shackled on a plane and came within hours of being deported to a country where he had never lived, the Burkina Faso native has been granted asylum. The decision caps a remarkable reversal for the African immigrant, freeing Dima after more than two years in ICE detention. Reopening his case already wiped away the removal order that allowed the government to try to send him elsewhere.
Deporting at-risk migrants home could lead to persecution or torture
This story was originally published by the Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting. On an August day in 2025, Celestin Dima had reason to celebrate. A judge at Arizona’s Eloy Immigration Court had just ruled that sending the African asylum-seeker back to his home country would likely bring further persecution. He’d fled Burkina Faso, a landlocked nation in West Africa, where he was outed as gay, kidnapped, and later targeted by the military and tortured by police.
Where to go for last-minute camping near Berkeley this Labor Day weekend
California’s several hundred parks feature some of the most beautiful wilderness in the country, many within a few hours drive of Berkeley. But reserving a campground can be unduly challenging. The state and national parks reservations websites are so popular that you often have to make reservations six months in advance, or more for holiday weekends or popular destinations. And you’re competing with the San Francisco coders, who crawl the sites to notify them of cancellations and book open spots.
Judges ruled deporting at-risk migrants could lead to persecution. ICE is detaining them anyway
In this Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2019, photo shows a guard walks a with a detainee in the intake area at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center in Adelanto, Calif. The facility is a privately operated immigration detention center run by the GEO Group, which can house up to about 1900 total immigrant detainees, both male and female. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson) On an August day in 2025, Celestin Dima had reason to celebrate.
Judges ruled deporting at-risk migrants could lead to persecution or torture. ICE still detains them.
Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting The Eloy Detention Center, a privately run ICE immigrant detention facility, is shown here on Friday, April 10, 2020. On an August day in 2025, Celestin Dima had reason to celebrate. A judge at Arizona's Eloy Immigration Court had just ruled that sending the African asylum-seeker back to his home country would likely bring further persecution.
Judges ruled deporting at-risk migrants home could lead to persecution or torture. ICE is detaining them anyway.
On an August day in 2025, Celestin Dima had reason to celebrate. A judge at Arizona’s Eloy Immigration Court had just ruled that sending the African asylum-seeker back to his home country would likely bring further persecution. He’d fled Burkina Faso, a landlocked nation in West Africa, where he was outed as gay, kidnapped, and later targeted by the military and tortured by police. Dima had sought refuge in the United States, and was detained after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border in 2024.
Judges ruled deporting at-risk migrants home could lead to persecution or torture. ICE is detaining them anyway.
This article was originally published by the Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting. Sign up for their newsletter here.
Where to go for last-minute camping near Berkeley this Fourth of July weekend
California’s several hundred parks feature some of the most beautiful wilderness in the country, many within a few hours drive of Berkeley. But reserving a campground can be unduly challenging. The state and national parks reservations websites are so popular that you often have to make reservations six months in advance, or more for holiday weekends or popular destinations. And you’re competing with the San Francisco coders, who crawl the sites to notify them of cancellations and book open spots.
Treatment Interrupted: How federal rules kept schizophrenia medication out of reach
Panicked calls flooded the 911 dispatch center in Amarillo, Texas around 9 a.m. on March 21, 2023. Witnesses described a man in overalls and a green T-shirt pointing a rifle at motorists southwest of downtown. Within minutes, dispatchers fielded more than a dozen calls from the scene, a commercial strip with fast food joints, dive bars and loan shops. Two patrol cars raced to the area. In front of a budget motel, police found Kevin Langemeier.
Where to go for last-minute camping near Berkeley this Memorial Day weekend
California’s several hundred parks feature some of the most beautiful wilderness in the country, many within a few hours drive of Berkeley. But reserving a campground can be unduly challenging. The state and national parks reservations websites are so popular that you often have to make reservations six months in advance, or more for holiday weekends or popular destinations. And you’re competing with the San Francisco coders, who crawl the sites to notify them of cancellations and book open spots.
Where to go for last-minute camping near Berkeley this Memorial Day weekend
12 hours ago If you want the best combination of performance, safety, and reliability, then these are the SUVs that do it better than all the rest. Key Points Consumer Reports listed top five highest rated SUVs based on independent, rigorous testing. • BMW X5 ranked highest overall; Honda Passport topped predicted …
Border Patrol citing legal immigrants more often for ‘carry your papers’ violations
For the first time in Arizona, U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents are using a Cold War-era law to ticket legal immigrants for minor offenses like not carrying their immigration documents, a break from the agency’s longstanding focus on people in the country illegally.
Cómo una organización no lucrativa de la comunidad Ohlone se convirtió rápidamente en uno de los fideicomisos de tierras indígenas más ricos del país
Corrina Gould, cofundadora del Sogorea Te’ Land Trust y presidenta de las Aldeas Confederadas de Lisjan, recolecta flores del jardín comunitario del fideicomiso de tierras en el suroeste de Berkeley en 2024. Crédito: Ximena Natera/Berkeleyside Durante más de 80 años, la cuadra de Fourth Street, entre las avenidas University y Hearst, ha estado pavimentada.
How an Ohlone nonprofit quickly became one of the wealthiest Indigenous land trusts in the nation
This story was first published on Feb. 18. For more than 80 years, the block on Fourth Street between University and Hearst avenues has been covered in pavement. Spenger’s Restaurant first laid asphalt there in 1946 to provide parking for the steady drumbeat of customers who came for fresh fish and clam chowder. Later it became a parking lot for Fourth Street shoppers.
Border Patrol now targeting legal immigrants for ‘carry your papers’ law in southern Arizona
For the first time in Arizona, U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents are using a Cold War-era law to ticket legal immigrants for minor offenses like not carrying their immigration documents, a break from the agency’s longstanding focus on people in the country illegally.
Border Patrol ticketing legal immigrants for not carrying their papers
For the first time in Arizona, U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents are using a Cold War-era law to ticket legal immigrants for minor offenses like not carrying their immigration documents, a break from the agency’s longstanding focus on people in the country illegally.
Border Patrol now targeting legal immigrants for law in southern Arizona
Editor's note: This story was originally published by the Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting: AZCIR.org. For the first time in Arizona, U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents are using a Cold War-era law to ticket legal immigrants for minor offenses like not carrying their immigration documents, a break from the agency’s longstanding focus on people in the country illegally.
Border Patrol is now using a ‘carry your papers’ law to target legal immigrants in Arizona
For the first time in Arizona, U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents are using a Cold War-era law to ticket legal immigrants for minor offenses like not carrying their immigration documents, a break from the agency’s longstanding focus on people in the country illegally.
Border Patrol now targeting legal immigrants under ‘carry your papers’ law in Southern Arizona
Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting A Yuma Sector Border Patrol agent conducts a vehicle inspection at an Interstate 8 checkpoint near Yuma, Ariz. For the first time in Arizona, U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents are using a Cold War-era law to ticket legal immigrants for minor offenses like not carrying their immigration documents, a break from the agency’s longstanding focus on people in the country illegally.
Border Patrol now targeting legal immigrants for ‘carry your papers’ law in southern Arizona
For the first time in Arizona, U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents are using a Cold War-era law to ticket legal immigrants for minor offenses like not carrying their immigration documents, a break from the agency’s longstanding focus on people in the country illegally.
Border Patrol now targeting immigrants for ‘carry your papers’ law in southern Arizona
RUBY, ARIZONA - JUNE 24: Migrants seeking asylum from Central and South America ride in the back of a border patrol vehicle after being apprehended by U.S. Customs and Border protection officers after illegally crossing over into the U.S. on June 24, 2024 in Ruby, Arizona.
How an Ohlone nonprofit quickly became one of the wealthiest Indigenous land trusts in the nation
For more than 80 years, the block on Fourth Street between University and Hearst avenues has been covered in pavement. Spenger’s Restaurant first laid asphalt there in 1946 to provide parking for the steady drumbeat of customers who came for fresh fish and clam chowder. Later it became a parking lot for Fourth Street shoppers.
How an East Bay Ohlone land trust became a fundraising powerhouse
For more than 80 years, the block on Fourth Street between University and Hearst avenues has been covered in pavement. Spenger’s Restaurant first laid asphalt there in 1946 to provide parking for the steady drumbeat of customers who came for fresh fish and clam chowder. Later it became a parking lot for Fourth Street shoppers.
Ukraine’s ‘battle-tested’ drones boost militarization of US-Mexico border
UZHHOROD, UKRAINE — In the far southwestern corner of Ukraine, a drone with an oversized battery pack buzzed above a children’s summer camp turned military base near the border with Slovakia. Against a landscape dotted with church spires in the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains, a soldier who goes by the call sign “Ravik” looked up. “That sound is the scariest sound (on the front line),” said Ravik, who had a thick beard and wore a hoodie that covered the tattoos up and down his arms.
Ukraine’s ‘battle-tested’ drones are accelerating militarization in Cochise County
UZHHOROD, UKRAINE — In the far southwestern corner of Ukraine, a drone with an oversized battery pack buzzed above a children’s summer camp turned military base near the border with Slovakia. Against a landscape dotted with church spires in the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains, a soldier who goes by the call sign “Ravik” looked up. “That sound is the scariest sound (on the front line),” said Ravik, who had a thick beard and wore a hoodie that covered the tattoos up and down his arms.
Ukraine’s ‘battle-tested’ drones are accelerating militarization along the U.S.-Mexico border
Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting Drone instructor Denys Pivovar tinkers with a drone used to train pilots at Dronarium, a drone school in the Kyiv region of Ukraine on Oct. 9, 2025.
VIDEO: From Ukraine’s Battlefield to America’s Borderlands
In Ukraine’s war with Russia, drones have become essential tools for both warfare and border surveillance. Now, those tools and tactics from Ukraine are being deployed along the U.S.-Mexico border. AZCIR traveled to Ukraine to document how “battle-tested” drone innovations are reshaping American border enforcement, and what it means as oversight fails to keep pace. Read the full story here. Video shot and edited by P.
Ukraine's 'battle-tested' drones are accelerating militarization along the U.S.-Mexico border
This story on drone technology from Ukraine reshaping surveillance at the U.S.-Mexico border was produced by the Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting, an independent nonprofit newsroom dedicated to statewide investigative reporting, in collaboration with 100 Days in Appalachia, an independent nonprofit covering Appalachia. Generous support from the International Women’s Media Foundation made this reporting from Ukraine possible.
Where to go for last-minute camping near Berkeley
Editor’s note: For summer 2025, Berkeleyside has updated this story that first appeared in 2023. California’s several hundred parks feature some of the most beautiful wilderness in the country, many within a few hours drive of Berkeley. But reserving a campground can be unduly challenging. The state and national parks reservations websites are so popular that you often have to make reservations six months in advance, or more for holiday weekends or popular destinations.
FACT BRIEF: Have ICE arrests surged in Arizona since Trump took office? Original
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrests in Arizona were up 72% in the first half of 2025 compared with the same period in 2024, according to an AZCIR analysis of immigration enforcement data compiled by the Deportation Data Project. From January through June, ICE made 3,764 arrests in the state — up from 2,186 in the first six months of last year. Monthly arrests climbed from 452 in January, when President Donald Trump took office, to 864 in June.
Where to go for last-minute camping near Berkeley
Editor’s note: Ahead of summer 2025, Berkeleyside has updated this story that first appeared in 2023. California’s several hundred parks feature some of the most beautiful wilderness in the country, many within a few hours drive of Berkeley. But reserving a campground can be unduly challenging. The state and national parks reservations websites are so popular that you often have to make reservations six months in advance, or more for holiday weekends or popular destinations.
Why build a wall around People's Park?
Editors’ note: This week we’re republishing some of our favorite stories of 2024. This story was first published on Jan. 5, the day after UC Berkeley walled off People’s Park. UC Berkeley took the shocking step of cordoning off People’s Park early Thursday morning with a wall of shipping containers stacked 17 feet high, the latest escalation in a long history of conflict over Berkeley’s most fiercely contested plot of land.
Ximena Natera
Posted inSchools We photographed move-in day as cars crowded the streets around campus, with families unloading boxes filled with clothes, personal items, backpacks, snacks and school supplies. Posted inCommunity Social media star and librarian Mychal Threets hosted Library Afro Revolution Day for young bookworms at the Tarea Hall Pittman branch. Berkeleyside set up a portable photo studio at the event to photograph attendees.
Berkeley teen braves sharks and hyperthermia in world record swims. What keeps her going?
Editors’ note: Berkeley High senior Maya Merhige swam across the 20.5-mile English Channel on Saturday in 11 hours, 39 minutes — making her one of the youngest swimmers to ever complete the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming, which also includes crossing the 20-mile Catalina Channel and swimming 28.5 miles around Manhattan. Berkeleyside is resharing this profile of Merhige, first published last September.
Where to go for last-minute camping near Berkeley this holiday weekend
Editor’s note: In advance of the July 4 holiday, Berkeleyside is updating this story that first appeared in 2023. California’s several hundred parks feature some of the most beautiful wilderness in the country, many within a few hours drive of Berkeley. But reserving a campground can be unduly challenging. The state and national parks reservations websites are so popular that you often have to make reservations six months in advance, or more for holiday weekends or popular destinations.
Special election: Tregub hangs on to a slim lead in Berkeley City Council District 4 race
Igor Tregub still maintains a slim margin after updated results were released Tuesday in the special election race to fill the Berkeley City Council District 4 seat left vacant by Kate Harrison’s abrupt resignation in January.
Election 2024: Berkeley City Council District 4 special election results
Four candidates are competing to fill the vacant Berkeley City Council District 4 seat in Tuesday’s election after Kate Harrison abruptly resigned in January. Soli Alpert, Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board vice chair; Elana Auerbach, local community organizer; Rubén Hernández Story, Councilmember Terry Taplin’s chief of staff; and Igor Tregub, climate policy director, are vying for the seat. The winner will finish Harrison’s term, which runs through 2026.
Berkeley law extends legal protections to polyamorous people and non-nuclear families
Berkeley passed a new law prohibiting discrimination on the basis of relationship and family structure Tuesday, creating some of the first legal protections for people in non-normative relationships. The law applies to polyamorous couples and families, as well as single-parent and multi-generational households — anything outside of a monogamous couple and nuclear family structure.
Election 2024: Progressives battle it out in race to fill vacant District 4 seat
Four candidates competing in a race among progressives to fill the City Council District 4 seat differ in their approach to accomplishing their goals. Soli Alpert, Elana Auerbach, Rubén Hernández Story and Igor Tregub are vying for the downtown Council seat vacated after Kate Harrison abruptly resigned in January. Hernández Story and Tregub are more closely aligned with the progressivism dominant on the City Council.
Election 2024: District 4 candidates answer Berkeleyside questions
Four candidates will compete in a special election May 28 to fill the District 4 seat on the City Council after Councilmember Kate Harrison abruptly resigned in January. Berkeleyside wants voters in District 4 to get to know the candidates vying for the seat — Soli Alpert, Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board vice chair; Elana Auerbach, local community organizer; Rubén Hernández Story, Councilmember Terry Taplin’s chief of staff; and Igor Tregub, climate policy director.
Berkeley Unified hit with new civil rights complaint over anti-Palestinian and Arab racism
Berkeley Unified is in hot water again over its handling of discrimination — this time, toward Palestinian, Arab and Muslim students and staff. The school district has been under scrutiny for months since a federal civil rights complaint filed in February described widespread antisemitism on campuses. On Wednesday, the superintendent testified before Congress on her handling of antisemitism in schools.
Berkeley superintendent testifies before Congress on antisemitism
Lawmakers are turning their attention to K-12 schools today as the leaders of three districts testify before Congress on their handling of antisemitism. Previous congressional hearings focused on how universities have handled protests on their campuses and led to the high-profile resignations of the Harvard and Penn presidents.
Berkeley Unified approves staff layoffs as state budget tightens
The Berkeley school board approved layoffs of roughly 20 district employees Wednesday night amid a tightening state education budget. Berkeley Unified School District directors voted 3-2 vote to approve the layoffs during a stretch of relative austerity from the state. The positions include staff at the Office of Family Engagement and Equity, campus aides and instructional assistants. No teacher positions were put on the chopping block.
Trans students at Berkeley High celebrate new all-gender bathroom
Trans and nonbinary students at Berkeley High celebrated a victory Tuesday afternoon — an adequate place to pee at school. After months of advocacy, the school converted one multi-stall bathroom to all-gender and promised more gender-neutral bathrooms in the future. “This is nine months worth of protesting, and it’s happening,” October Hertenstein, a sophomore, told a group of about 20 teenagers Tuesday during a student club meeting for gender nonconforming youth.
Sen. Nancy Skinner endorses Mayor Jesse Arreguín for State Senate
Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguín has scooped up an endorsement from Sen. Nancy Skinner in the race to fill her seat in the State Senate. Arreguín will face off against Jovanka Beckles to represent District 7 in the November election. Sen. Skinner, who will be termed out in November, announced her endorsement Tuesday on the social media platform X. “Jesse is a trusted, progressive, and effective leader.
New UC Berkeley student housing complex will have Ohlone name
A new UC Berkeley apartment complex for graduate students set to open in Albany in August will have a Chochenyo Ohlone name that honors local Indigenous people. When it opens in the fall, xučyun ruwway (HOOCH-yoon ROO-why) will have room for 761 graduate students across five six-story buildings in Albany. It will triple the UC Berkeley housing for single graduate students.
Housing production slumps in Berkeley after 2022 peak
After hitting its highest level in decades in 2022, housing production slumped in Berkeley last year. Just 431 units received building permits in 2023, down from 887 a year prior, a 50% drop driven by high interest rates and construction costs, which have slowed housing production nationwide. All of that poses a greater challenge for Berkeley to meet its aggressive state mandates for housing production, which call for the city to approve about 1,100 units per year.
Berkeley Superintendent will testify before Congress on antisemitism
The Berkeley Unified superintendent will testify before a U.S. House of Representatives committee hearing next month during the first Congressional hearings focused on how K-12 schools are handling antisemitism since Hamas’ attacks on Israel on Oct. 7 and the ensuing war in Gaza.
Parent sues Berkeley Unified over access to Israel-Palestine curriculum
A Berkeley parent filed a lawsuit against Berkeley Unified School District for refusing to turn over curriculum taught to 9th graders about Israel-Palestine, the latest flashpoint in tensions over the conflict in Berkeley schools.
Show More
loading
Actions
Is this you?
As a journalist, you can create a free Muck Rack account to customize your profile, list your contact preferences, and upload a portfolio of your best work.Get in touch with Ally
Contact Ally, search articles and posts on X, monitor coverage, and track replies from one place.
Learn more about Muck Rack