ICE Separates Chinese Father and Son at NYC Check-In

A six-year-old boy from China was separated from his father by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents during a routine check-in in New York City on November 26, leaving the child's whereabouts undisclosed by federal officials as of this week.

Fei Zheng and his son, Yuanxin, had arrived at ICE's headquarters at 26 Federal Plaza in Lower Manhattan for a scheduled appointment. According to community advocates present with the family, the pair were arrested shortly after entering the building. Zheng, who had been seeking asylum, was handcuffed and transferred to the Orange County Correctional Facility in Goshen, upstate New York, where he remains in custody. Yuanxin, a first-grade student recently enrolled at a school in Astoria, Queens, was prepared for placement with the Office of Refugee Resettlement, which manages unaccompanied immigrant children. Federal records indicate the boy was not listed in ICE's public detainee database.

The separation occurred after Zheng refused to board a deportation flight to China, a decision he made during prior enforcement attempts in September and October. The father and son had entered the United States without authorization via the...