Father and 6-Year-Old Son Separated After Being Detained by ICE at Routine Check-in  

A 6-year-old boy and his father were separated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) during a routine check-in in New York City on Nov. 26, according to multiple reports.

Fei Zheng and his son Yuanxin were seeking asylum after migrating from China. They went to a scheduled appointment at ICE’s N.Y.C. headquarters at 26 Federal Plaza, where they were promptly separated, advocates who were with the family told The City.

Activist Jennie Spector told NY1 that she has since spoken to Zheng. “He said to me, ‘I did what they said I should do. I came in for this check-in.’ And yet they arrested him and his son,” Spector said.

At the time of his arrest, Fei grew aggressive with the officers and told them he wanted to die, federal records said, according to the New York Times. 

He was then placed in handcuffs and transported to an adult detention center in Orange County, N.Y. Meanwhile, officials prepared to take the first-grade student to the Office of Refugee Resettlement, which holds unaccompanied immigrant children, according to the NYT. His location has not been shared.

In April, the father and son illegally entered the U.S. via the  U.S.—Mexico border, according to federal documents, the outlet reports. A border patrol officer discovered the two in Dulzura, Calif., and they were placed in custody. 

Then, in September, ICE tried to put the father on an ICE flight back to China, but he refused. The agency attempted to do so again in October, but he refused once more out of fear of the Chinese government. The father and son then settled in Queens, N.Y., and Yuanxin was enrolled in a local school.

Yuanxin and his father will be reunited later this month when they are both put on a deportation flight back to China, according to the NYT, citing federal records.

Fei’s attorney, Mike Gao, told the NYT that this case is a “very sad story,” adding, “I don’t know what they’re going to do.”

Department of Homeland Security Asst. Secretary Tricia McLaughlin issued a statement obtained by PEOPLE, denying that ICE separates families. 

“This is consistent with past administrations’ immigration enforcement. Parents are asked if they want to be removed with their children or ICE will place the children with a safe person the parent designates,” McLaughlin said.

The Zheng family, whom McLaughlin referred to as “illegal aliens from China,” were given “a lawful order of removal as a family unit.”

“Mr. Zheng refused to board the plane and was acting so disruptive and aggressive that he endangered the child’s wellbeing. He even attempted to escape and abandon his son,” McLaughlin continued. “Mr. Zheng had the right and the ability to depart the country as a family and willfully choose to not comply. To be clear, refusing a judge’s deportation order is a crime.”

Politicians have expressed outrage in response to the situation, with N.Y.C. mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani posting to X on Tuesday, Dec. 2, “Now [Yuanxin’s] in custody, alone. ICE won’t say where. This cruelty serves no one. It must end.”

New York Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Nydia M. Velázquez are attempting to work with federal officials to learn the boy’s location, Schumer’s representative told the NYT.

City Council Member Julie Won told PIX11 that her office knows Yuanxin’s location and said he is safe. 

“As a mother, I condemn the separation of families, especially minors as young as 6 years old,” Won said. “New York City is a sanctuary city and must remain safe for all of our families.”

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PEOPLE reached out to Senator Chuck Schumer, City Council Member Julie Won and Mike Gao for comment.