Two Chinese restaurant owners in Syracuse, New York were detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) during their routine check-ins earlier this month.
52-year-old Lixing Chen, owner of Dragon China restaurant, was taken into custody when he attended his appointment at ICE with his son Andy Chen on September 15. Andy had to wait outside the ICE building for two hours before being informed by an officer that his father had been detained.
ICE spokesperson Marie L. Ferguson stated that Lixing Chen has been facing deportation since 1994 and exhausted all appeals in 2012, so he will be deported soon. With Chen detained, the family-run restaurant that has been in business for years was forced to close down.
According to Chen’s family, there was a record from an immigration judge allowing Lixing Chen to stay, but ICE officers failed to locate it possibly due to paperwork errors like discrepancies in name spelling, leading to his arrest. ICE has not responded to this issue.
Shortly before Lixing Chen’s detention, another Chinese restaurant owner, Dan Chen, was also arrested during a routine check-in earlier this month. Lixing Chen is currently being held at the Broome County Correctional Facility in Binghamton, while Dan Chen is detained in a facility in Louisiana.
In addition to Lixing Chen and Dan Chen, multiple incidents of Chinese restaurant owners being detained have occurred in the New York area this summer, sparking concerns in the local community. Supporters argue that these individuals have not been evading the law but have been actively cooperating with the immigration system for years, only to be arrested and deported during their routine check-ins. Family members state that these immigrants have been living in the U.S. for decades, running businesses in the community and paying taxes, striving to legalize their status over the years.
Under President Trump’s leadership, ICE is currently focusing on deporting individuals who pose threats to national security, public safety, and those with final deportation orders.