Chinese-American community alarmed after China national dies in ICE custody

The Chinese-American community has expressed anger and concern after a Chinese national died in the custody of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement on US territory.

Gabriel Chin, a professor at the University of California, Davis School of Law, said Asian-Americans and Chinese-Americans should be “very concerned” and energized to oppose what he called an attack on the community’s existence. He warned that treating Chinese immigration as inherently negative could affect US citizens of Chinese ancestry.

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Asian-Americans, Chinese-Americans, should be very concerned about this and very energised to stop what is essentially an attack on the existence of the community

ICE said Wei Lianyong, 51, died on Aug. 23 in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. The agency reportedly did not disclose the death until this week. Wei had been arrested two days earlier by the Northern Mariana Islands Department of Public Safety on criminal charges following an alleged assault involving a family of five at their home.

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We should not accept the idea that Chinese immigration is a bad thing because it’s Chinese because that’s inevitably going to affect the position of US citizens of Chinese ancestry