Matt Katz

WNYC

Matt Katz

Matt Katz reports on air at WNYC about immigration, refugees and national security. He covered New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie for more than five years, first for The Philadelphia Inquirer and then for WNYC and New Jersey Public Radio. He followed the governor through scandal and presidential candidacy and appeared weekly on WNYC Studios' Christie Tracker Podcast.

In 2015 Matt and a team from WNYC won a Peabody Award for their coverage of Christie and the Bridgegate scandal. The series -- Chris Christie, White House Ambitions and the Abuse of Power -- was WNYC's first Peabody for news coverage since 1944. In 2016, Matt's biography of Christie -- American Governor: Chris Christie's Bridge to Redemption -- was published by Simon & Schuster's Threshold Editions. Matt's experience covering Christie also shaped his 2016 TedX talk, Political Deceit in a Social Media Age.

Matt has written about politics for The Washington Post, The New York Times, The New Republic and POLITICO. Before covering the Statehouse in Trenton he spent time in Afghanistan, writing a series on reconstruction efforts for The Philadelphia Inquirer that won the Livingston Award for International Reporting for journalists under the age of 35. In 2009 his four-part investigation about Camden set the stage for an end to the state's takeover of city government. Prior to that, he was an award-winning reporter and syndicated dating columnist at The Courier-Post in New Jersey. He started his career covering local school board, zoning and council meetings for The Daily Record in New Jersey.

Matt has two young children, Sadie and Reuben, who listen to a lot of WNYC. Find him on Twitter @mattkatz00.

Matt Katz appears in the following:

To Get Approved for Asylum, Some Immigrants Head to the Psychologist

Monday, October 15, 2018

By Matt Katz : WNYC

A single psychological evaluation can mean the difference between freedom and deportation.

Comments [3]

County Officials Shutting ICE Out Of Local Jails

Sunday, October 14, 2018

By Matt Katz : WNYC

Activists on the left are persuading local governments to end jail contracts with ICE, hoping to force the Trump administration to loosen its "zero tolerance" policy.

Comment

Hudson County Votes to End ICE Detentions by 2020

Friday, October 12, 2018

By WNYC Newsroom

Hudson County freeholders approved a resolution to end the contract with Immigration and Customs Enforcement by 2020.

Comment

Refugee Admissions From Muslim Nations Plummet in NY and NJ, and Double From Russia

Monday, October 01, 2018

By Matt Katz : WNYC

Just one Iraqi arrived in New York and no Syrians resettled in New Jersey last year, a big drop from the previous year. The number of Russian refugees doubled in the two states.

Comments [7]

A Steady Rise in Immigrants, Revenue at Orange County Jail

Tuesday, September 25, 2018

By Matt Katz : WNYC

The jail in Goshen is one of five local facilities that detain immigrants, and it's holding more of them during the Trump Administration, just not as many as those in NJ.

Comment

Bergen Sheriff Resigns After Racist Remarks Caught on Tape

Friday, September 21, 2018

By Matt Katz : WNYC

Bergen County Sheriff Michael Saudino, who was up for re-election next year, resigns after making racist statements and admitting to rule breaking.

Comments [3]

Gov. Murphy Calls for Bergen County Sheriff’s Resignation, After Racist Remarks Caught on Tape

Thursday, September 20, 2018

By Matt Katz : WNYC

On the recording, Sheriff Saudino criticizes Murphy's diversity agenda, saying it will "let the blacks come in," and that Attorney General Grewal was appointed "because of his turban."

Comments [32]

No Family Contact Visits Allowed: Life for Immigrants at Bergen County Jail

Thursday, September 20, 2018

By Matt Katz : WNYC

The sheriff who runs the jail only allows lawyers to meet with ICE detainees in person. He's solely responsible for contracting with ICE and stands firmly behind the decision.

Comments [5]

People listen as Vice President Mike Pence speaks at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) headquarters, Friday, July 6, 2018, in Washington.

Democratic Districts Under Scrutiny for Lucrative ICE Contracts

Tuesday, September 18, 2018

Left-leaning counties in New Jersey rely on millions of dollars from ICE to maintain the county's jails.

Comment

Deal to Kick ICE Out of Hudson County Jail Now On Ice

Thursday, September 13, 2018

By Matt Katz : WNYC

Freeholders will not vote, as planned, Thursday night on ending a lucrative contract with ICE to detain immigrants at its county jail by 2020.

Comment

Hudson County Will Stop Detaining Immigrants for ICE

Thursday, September 06, 2018

By Matt Katz : WNYC

The agency will get booted from a local jail in New Jersey, following pressure from immigrant advocates.

Comments [3]

Gov. Murphy Pledged, But Hasn't Delivered, Funds for Immigrants

Tuesday, September 04, 2018

By Matt Katz : WNYC

Advocates want to know: Why has it taken so long for New Jersey's Democratic governor to pay out $2.1 million to provide legal help for detained immigrants?

Comments [2]

Employees gather the ballots at the Maricopa County Recorder's Office on primary election day Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2018, in Phoenix.

Arizona Voting Problems Erode Public Trust

Thursday, August 30, 2018

Thousands of Arizona primary voters were unable to vote when polls opened.

Former Balch Springs Police Officer Roy Oliver, foreground left, stands next to defense attorney Miles Brissette, right, after being sentenced to 15 years in prison for the murder of 15-year-old

Rare Conviction For White Police Officer Who Killed Black Teen

Thursday, August 30, 2018

A jury convicted ex-officer Roy Oliver for the 2017 killing of 15-year-old Jordan Edwards this week.

Comment

Honduran human rights defender Bertha Oliva, left, stands arm in arm with Austra Bertha Flores, the mother of slain environmental activist and Goldman Environmental Prize winner Berta Caceres

Defending the Environment May Get You Killed

Thursday, August 30, 2018

Environmental defenders are being threatened and killed at increasingly high rates.

Comment

Murphy Rejects Conservative-Backed Bill To Aid Immigrant Hair Braiders

Monday, August 27, 2018

By Matt Katz : WNYC

The governor issued a conditional veto calling for braiders — many of them African immigrants — to take 40 hours of cosmetology classes instead of 1,200. Backers are pushing for none.

Comments [5]