US drops plan to deport Chinese national who exposed Xinjiang detention sites

WASHINGTON (Journos News) – The United States has withdrawn plans to deport a Chinese national who secretly filmed detention facilities in China’s Xinjiang region, following mounting concern that he would face punishment if returned. Rights advocates say the move allows the man’s asylum case to proceed after weeks of public and congressional pressure.

Case centers on Xinjiang footage and risk of reprisals

The Department of Homeland Security has dropped its request to deport Guan Heng, a 38-year-old Chinese national, according to two rights activists familiar with the case. Guan entered the United States without authorization and had been facing removal to Uganda, a step his supporters said could expose him to retaliation by Chinese authorities.

Rayhan Asat, a human rights lawyer who assisted Guan, said his attorney received formal notice from DHS withdrawing the deportation request. Asat said she now expects Guan’s asylum application to move forward “smoothly and favorably.”

Zhou Fengsuo, executive director of the advocacy group Human Rights in China, separately confirmed the decision. “We’re really happy,” Zhou said. DHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s public database still lists Guan as being in custody. His legal team is seeking his release on bond from an ICE detention facility in New York, Asat and Zhou said.

How Guan’s footage drew international attention

Guan’s case is closely tied to video footage he recorded in Xinjiang in 2020. Rights groups say the images show detention facilities used to hold large numbers of people from ethnic minority communities, particularly Uyghur Muslims.

International organizations, governments, and researchers have long documented mass detentions in Xinjiang. China’s government has rejected allegations of abuses, saying it operated vocational training programs aimed at countering extremism and providing job skills. Beijing denies holding people arbitrarily or engaging in forced assimilation.

Activists say Guan covertly filmed the facilities knowing that releasing the material inside China would put him at immediate risk. He left the mainland in 2021, first traveling to Hong Kong and then to Ecuador, which at the time allowed visa-free entry for Chinese nationals.

From there, Guan continued north, eventually reaching the Bahamas. According to Human Rights in China, he bought an inflatable boat and small motor and set off for Florida. After nearly 23 hours at sea, he reached the U.S. coastline. The footage was later released on YouTube, adding visual evidence to a body of reporting and satellite analysis already circulating internationally.

Fallout in China and asylum request in the US

Following the release of the videos, Guan was identified online, according to the advocacy group. His family in China was summoned by state security authorities, the group said, a development that heightened concerns about reprisals should he be returned.

Guan applied for asylum in the United States and settled in a small town outside Albany, New York, seeking to keep a low profile, according to his supporters. That period ended in August, when he was detained by ICE agents.

The detention prompted renewed scrutiny from rights organizations and lawmakers. Advocacy groups argued that Guan’s actions placed him at particular risk under China’s national security laws, which have been used to prosecute people accused of revealing state secrets or damaging the country’s image abroad.

Guan Heng asylum case draws bipartisan attention in Washington

Public support intensified after Human Rights in China publicized the case. Members of Congress urged the administration to ensure Guan was not deported and to consider the broader implications for whistleblowers and rights documenters.

The congressional Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission said Guan had taken extraordinary personal risks to document what it described as mass detention in Xinjiang. Deporting him, the commission warned in a statement posted on social media, could expose him to persecution.

Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois, the top Democrat on the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, wrote to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem calling for Guan’s release and approval of his asylum claim.

The United States, Krishnamoorthi wrote, has a moral responsibility to protect victims of human rights abuses and those who help bring such abuses to light.

Broader context of Xinjiang reporting

The Xinjiang region has been at the center of sustained international scrutiny for more than a decade. Reports from journalists, academics, and United Nations experts have described mass detention, intrusive surveillance, and restrictions on religious and cultural practices. Several governments have labeled China’s actions as crimes against humanity or genocide, characterizations Beijing strongly disputes.

Visual documentation from inside the region has been limited due to heavy security, restricted access for foreign journalists, and the risk faced by local residents who speak out. Rights advocates say this scarcity has amplified the significance of independently obtained footage such as Guan’s.

At the same time, US asylum cases involving China often move slowly and can hinge on complex credibility assessments and evolving country conditions. Immigration authorities generally do not comment on individual cases while proceedings are ongoing.

What comes next

With DHS withdrawing its deportation request, Guan’s case now returns to the asylum system, where an immigration judge will ultimately decide whether he can remain in the United States.

His supporters say the immediate priority is securing his release from detention while the case proceeds. They argue that continued custody is unnecessary given the government’s decision not to pursue removal.

For now, the reversal has eased fears of an imminent deportation and signaled, advocates say, recognition of the risks Guan could face if sent back to China. Whether it will translate into a successful asylum claim remains a question for the courts.