Chinese father and son deported after weeks-long ICE separation

A Chinese father and his 6-year-old son who were separated for weeks after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrest in New York City have been deported to China following their reunion.

Back to China: Fei Zheng and his son Yuanxin were deported on Dec. 17 and arrived in China three days later, according to federal records. Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin confirmed the family’s removal, saying “We are happy to report we were able to remove the family back to their home country.” Speaking with community activist Jennie Spector before their departure, Zheng said he agreed to deportation to end the separation from his child, whose location had never been disclosed throughout their detention. Despite fears about what awaited him in China, he reportedly felt some relief knowing he would soon reunite with Yuanxin.

The family’s path back to China began with Zheng’s Nov. 26 arrest. At the time, he struck his head against a wall and told officers he wanted to die, prompting officials to place him under suicide watch at Orange County Correctional Facility. While he remained in detention upstate, Yuanxin, who had enrolled at P.S. 166Q in Astoria about a month earlier, was transferred to Office of Refugee Resettlement custody.

What we learned: The Zhengs’ case reveals how quickly compliance can turn into detention for Asian American immigrant families. Just a month after receiving year-long parole on Oct. 24 when a judge administratively closed their asylum case, the father and son were detained again at what should have been a routine check-in. Their November arrest was their third time in ICE custody since crossing the border from Mexico in April.

The family’s asylum application had been denied after an immigration judge upheld officials’ finding that Zheng lacked credible fear of persecution, specifically torture, in China. During their weeks of separation, the father and son spoke only twice by phone. Zooming out, Yuanxin was only one of 151 minors under 18 that ICE arrested in New York City between January and October. For Asian immigrant families already facing language barriers and limited resources, the case shows how quickly following requirements can lead to family separation.

The big picture: The father and son’s deportation reflects the Trump administration’s intensified immigration enforcement, which has seen ICE make courtroom arrests to meet daily detention quotas of 3,000. The agency, according to ProPublica, placed about 600 children in government shelters in 2025, the highest number in a decade, while in-absentia removal orders have tripled to over 50,000 as fear keeps immigrants from attending check-ins.

Unsurprisingly, the Zhengs’ case drew strong community reaction. Over 200 people rallied at Yuanxin’s school playground earlier this month, while multiple officials and advocates condemned their separation, including Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani.