Overview
- Department of Homeland Security and an advocate confirmed that Fei Zheng and his son, Yuanxin, arrived in China after their removal last week.
- The pair were detained Nov. 26 during a routine ICE check-in in Manhattan, with Zheng sent to Orange County Correctional Facility and his son placed in Office of Refugee Resettlement custody.
- Advocates say the child was unlocatable publicly for more than a week before his ORR placement was confirmed and father and son spoke twice by phone.
- DHS says Zheng initially refused to board and acted disruptively, while an advocate contends he chose to stop fighting his case to reunite with his child; internal records cited by The New York Times say he hit his head and said he wanted to die during the arrest.
- The detention and removal prompted rallies in Queens and criticism from New York officials, with advocates linking the case to rising interior arrests of minors documented in federal data.