What was meant to be a routine immigration check-in in Lower Manhattan has instead become a distressing episode for a New York family. A father and his six-year-old son were taken into custody by ICE agents and are now separated, leaving advocates scrambling for answers.
According to multiple reports, Chinese asylum-seeker Fei Zheng was arrested at 26 Federal Plaza in Manhattan on Nov. 26, while his son, Yuanxin, was placed in an unknown location. Community advocate Jennie Spector and others say they have not been informed where the child is held.
Arrest and Separation
Fei Zheng and his son crossed the U.S. border in April and have since faced three detentions by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. After being paroled in late October, they settled in Queens, and Yuanxin had just enrolled in first grade at an elementary school in Astoria. During their check-in last week, ICE agents arrested Zheng and transferred him roughly 65 miles away to the Orange County Correction Facility in Goshen, New York.
“We do not know where his six-year-old son is, and he has not been told where his six-year-old son is,” community advocate Jennie Spector said.
Official Response
A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson disputed the allegations of family separation, stating, “ICE does not separate families… Mr. Zheng had the right and the ability to depart the country as a family and willfully chose to not comply.” The agency also maintains it detains unaccompanied children only in rare circumstances.
Advocates’ Concerns
Spector called the DHS stance “an outright lie because we know that they do and they did in this situation. And we know that they’ve done it with many other families.” She added, “This is the case for so many of these families and individuals who are going in and following immigration law as mandated, yet they’re being arrested and detained and being disappeared. Right now, his son is disappeared.”
According to Spector, this marks the third time Zheng and his son have been detained by ICE since their arrival in April.
Community Reaction
Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani took to social media to condemn the separation: “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.”
Advocates are now mobilizing legal and political support to secure Zheng’s release and reunite him with his son. “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,” Spector said.