Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Jul 17
ICE Arrests Chinese Lawyer Wu Shaoping Before July 27 Asylum Hearing
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Jul 17

ICE Arrests Chinese Lawyer Wu Shaoping Before July 27 Asylum Hearing

3 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Jul 17

Summary

  • Wu Shaoping was detained in Pennsylvania on Wednesday while delivering Amazon parcels, despite showing ICE officers proof that his 2020 asylum application is still pending.
  • The arrest followed a stop in Mount Holly Springs where officers asked for proof of citizenship; Wu told them he had entered legally on a tourist visa after fleeing China in late 2019.
  • Supporters say deportation could send Wu back to persecution or jail because he handled cases involving religious minorities and dissidents and fled after a 2019 Xiamen meeting that preceded a broad crackdown.
  • A July 27 immigration hearing is scheduled, and the case has deepened fears among exiled Chinese activists in the US that people who sought protection could still be removed.

Insights

Why was a Chinese lawyer who fled persecution detained by ICE and now faces deportation back to the regime he escaped?
Is the U.S. asylum system becoming a trap for the very dissidents it claims to protect from authoritarian governments?
If asylum seekers boost the economy, why are new U.S. policies making it harder for them to work and live?