Chinese boy Yuanxin, 6, speaks with father for first time since ICE detention

Yuanxin, a 6-year-old immigrant from China who was detained and separated from his father, Fei Zheng, over the Thanksgiving holiday in New York City, was finally allowed to speak with his parent by phone this past weekend.

Jennie Spector, who has been supporting the family since July, described the call as a “very good development”. She said a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer at the Orange County Correctional Facility in upstate New York, where Zheng is being held, made it possible.

Spector, who spoke with Zheng after the call, said that “I could just hear the relief in his voice knowing that he’s [Yuanxin] doing as OK as he can”.

However, there’s still no indication of where the minor was being held. Yuanxin has been confirmed to be in the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement, a federal agency under the US Department of Health and Human Services responsible for unaccompanied and separated minor immigrants.

In a statement to the South China Morning Post, the ORR cited the “privacy and security of unaccompanied alien children” in refusing to comment on the case.

Spector said that Yuanxin could be with a foster family, but it was not confirmed. Activists have raised concerns about the trauma of being separated from his parent and his limited ability to communicate his needs and feelings, as Mandarin is his primary language.

  

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