ICE agents arrested a Chinese father and his 6-year-old son, separating the two and sending the father to Orange County Jail while the whereabouts of the son remain unknown as of Tuesday morning.
The father and son spent several weeks inside a family ICE detention center after they first entered the country and were released on parole in early summer. They were arrested again at an August ICE check-in and returned to Dilley Immigration Processing Center, a detention center for families with children, where the two had previously been held.
In September, at an immigration court hearing while they were detained, a judge administratively closed their asylum case, according to immigration court records. Under prior administrations, would have been seen as a positive step and indicated that DHS wasn’t actively seeking the person’s deportation.
And just over a month later, on Oct. 24, the father and son were released on a year-long parole, according to a copy of their DHS Immigration and Customs Enforcement parole document reviewed by THE CITY. They were required to return for an ICE check-in in early December, according to the document.
“ICE may also terminate parole on notice prior to the automatic termination date,” the document warned. “Parole is entirely within the discretion of ICE and can be terminated at any time and for any reason.”
Despite the uncertainty, the two were settling into life in New York City, living at a family shelter in Queens, while Yuanxin had started first grade at P.S. 166Q in Astoria, according to Spector.
Archived: https://archive.ph/jZjDm
The cruelty is unending.
As a Chinese American, this resonates with me so much, I feel them. I’ve been through those similar footsteps as that kid, I was about the same age when I first got here, I was in second grade. But I’ve never been separated like that… I mean… I feel sad when I was in school, in an environment where almost nobody spoke my language (besides like a few classmates that were born here and grew up bilingual), and I felt alone, and my mother would pick me up from school like very late from the after school program that ran until 6PM, being separated from parents for just a few hours was already anxiery inducing enough, but this kid is now facing much worse than I ever did. I was also in NYC, so I can almost picture that scene… of being alone, and scared. I mean being separated like that, for extended period of time… who know how long this could be… must be terrifying, leaving your home country and trying to find a better life… only to get rejected by the country you are trying seeking help in.
My family are legal, I’m a US Citizen now, but still, imagine if this admin was in power back around 2010s when I first arrived and didn’t have citizenship status… and on that topic, my dad is still not a citizen yet (English is hard for adults)… so um… we could still theoretically get separated at any moment if this admin tries anything… 👀
I heard ICE eats children.