6-year-old who went ‘missing’ after ICE separation is reunited with his dad — and swiftly deported to China
6-year-old deported to China with his father after ICE arrest in NY
- Fei Zheng and his six-year-old son Yuanxin were deported to China last week, following their separation by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in New York.
- The father and son, who had sought asylum due to fears of torture in China, were separated after a routine ICE check-in, with Yuanxin subsequently placed in the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement.
- Yuanxin, a first-grade student in Queens, was considered "missing" for over a week by advocates who fought for their reunion.
- The incident drew significant outrage from New York officials and advocates, who criticised it as an apparent tactic by the Trump administration to pressure undocumented migrants through family separation.
- Homeland Security initially stated that Fei Zheng was disruptive and endangered his son during the arrest, claiming he refused to board a plane and attempted to escape.