On Wednesday, May 14, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) issued a press release stating that ICE’s Philadelphia office had issued a final deportation order to Chinese citizen Fengyun Shi on May 7, sending him back to China. Shi was accused of illegally using drones to photograph designated military facilities, leading the ICE Office of the Principal Legal Advisor to categorize him as a national security risk.
“The deportation of Fengyun Shi demonstrates ICE’s unwavering commitment to protecting the American people and safeguarding national security. His illegal actions posed a significant risk to sensitive military facilities, and his deportation ensures he will no longer pose a threat to the country,” said Brian McShane, Acting Director of ICE’s Philadelphia Field Office, in the press release. “ICE will continue to enforce immigration laws, prioritizing the protection of the United States and its citizens.”
On August 11, 2021, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) approved Fengyun Shi’s entry into the U.S. with an F-1 visa at San Francisco International Airport in California, valid until his enrollment in a graduate program in Agricultural Engineering at the University of Minnesota.
On January 6, 2024, while using a drone to take aerial photos over the Newport News Shipbuilding Yard in Virginia, Fengyun Shi was reported by local residents and investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). They found that photos and videos on Shi’s drone’s SD card appeared to capture “U.S. Navy ships and/or ships intended for use by the U.S. Navy.”
On January 18, 2024, Fengyun Shi was arrested by the FBI in San Francisco before boarding a one-way flight to China.
Due to the pending criminal charges against him, Fengyun Shi’s F-1 visa was revoked by the U.S. State Department on January 25, 2024. On February 7, 2024, the University of Minnesota terminated his status as a student and exchange visitor.
In June of the same year, Fengyun Shi was charged with six misdemeanor counts under the Espionage Act. In July, he pleaded guilty to two charges, one for prohibiting filming military facilities in restricted airspace, and another for using unregistered aircraft to film important military facilities.
On October 2, 2024, Fengyun Shi was convicted by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Newport News Division, and sentenced to six months in prison. Per a regulation from the WWII-era Espionage Act, he would be under court supervision for a year after release.
Fengyun Shi was held at the Federal Correctional Institute at Allenwood in White Deer, Pennsylvania. ICE’s Philadelphia Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) issued an immigration detention order against him on November 13, 2024.
On March 7 of this year, Fengyun Shi was released from the Federal Correctional Institute at Allenwood, but was immediately arrested by ICE’s Philadelphia ERO and detained at the Clinton County Correctional Facility in McElhatten, Pennsylvania. On the same day, ERO served him a notice to appear under Section 237 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, charging him with potential deportation.
On March 24, an immigration judge in Elizabeth, New Jersey, ordered Fengyun Shi to be deported back to China from the United States.
According to Fengyun Shi’s LinkedIn profile, he graduated from Jilin University and interned at the State Grid Corporation of China for nearly 1.5 years.