During a scheduled visit to an immigration office in Lower Manhattan, a father and son were arrested by ICE agents, sparking outcry from community advocates and raising questions about family separations. The incident involved Fei Zheng, a Chinese asylum seeker, and his six-year-old son, who have reportedly been detained multiple times since arriving in the United States.
“We do not know where his six-year-old son is, and he has not been told where his six-year-old son is,” said community advocate Jennie Spector, highlighting the distress among advocates and supporters following the arrests.
Key Details:
- Fei Zheng was sent to Orange County Correction Facility in Goshen, New York, a facility 65 miles from Manhattan, leading to his separation from his son.
- This marks the third arrest of Zheng and his son by ICE since their border crossing in April.
- Zheng and his son had recently settled in Queens, with the boy enrolled in school in Astoria.
- Despite these reports, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson stated, “ICE does not separate families,” challenging the accounts provided by advocates.
The father and son reportedly arrived at the immigration office on November 26, accompanied by supporters. Shortly after, they were separated, with Zheng being detained at the Orange County Correction Facility. According to Spector, Zheng expressed his confusion and frustration, stating, “I did what they said I should do. I came in for this check-in.”
In response to these claims, the Department of Homeland Security reiterated that families are not intentionally separated, asserting, “Mr. Zheng had the right and the ability to depart the country as a family and willfully chose to not comply.”
Spector, however, contradicted this statement, asserting the contrary based on her interactions and observations. “For them to say they don’t separate families is just an outright lie because we know that they do and they did in this situation,” she said.
Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani also criticized the detainment of the young boy on social media, stating, “Six-year-old Yuanxin had just enrolled in the first grade at an elementary school in Astoria. Now he’s in custody, alone. ICE won’t say where. This cruelty serves no one. It must end.”
Spector emphasized the importance of keeping young children with their families and communities during these formative years. “I’m sure he was really enjoying being in school and that’s where he should be. That’s where a six-year-old should be — with other children and learning and being with their parents and not separated and in detention,” she remarked.
Local advocates are currently strategizing through legal means and seeking the aid of local elected officials to secure Zheng’s release from detention and ensure a reunion with his son.
