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

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Sep 3, 2026 #Associated Press, #Beijing, #Chinese Consulate General in Los Angeles, #Chinese-American Legal Defence Alliance, #Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, #department of homeland security, #donald trump, #Gabriel Chin, #ICE, #Lianyong Wei, #Northern Mariana Islands Department of Public Safety, #Saipan, #South China Morning Post (SCMP), #US Border Patrol, #US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, #Washington

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

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A Chinese national died hours after being taken into US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Photo: AFP

Mark Magnierin New YorkPublished: 7:42am, 4 Sep 2026Updated: 7:52am, 4 Sep 2026The Chinese-American community expressed anger and concern on Thursday over the death in custody of a Chinese national by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement [ICE] on US territory.Wei Lianyong, 51, reportedly died in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) on August 23, although the scandal-plagued agency did not disclose the death until this week.

“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,” said Gabriel Chin, professor at the University of California, Davis School of Law.

“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.”

08:08Widespread anti-immigrant operations spark fear in Asian communities across the US

Wei was arrested on August 21 by the Northern Mariana Islands Department of Public Safety on criminal charges following an alleged assault on a family of five at their home, according to ICE.

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