Queens Community Protests ICE Separation of Father and 6-Year-Old Son

Community Outrage Over Family Separation

• 💔 A Queens community is rallying against the detention and separation of a Chinese father and his six-year-old son by ICE.
• 📣 Community leaders, students, and families gathered outside PS 166, protesting tactics they claim are traumatizing communities.
• 🗣️ Speakers expressed shock at the separation, calling it a "rotten" tactic and vowing not to stand for it.

Whereabouts and Custody

• ❓ Concern is mounting over the whereabouts of first grader Yao Shenzang, separated from his father nearly two weeks ago after an immigration hearing.
• 🏢 His father, Fiang, remains in an adult detention center in Orange County.
• 🏠 The six-year-old son is confirmed to be in the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement at an undisclosed location.

ICE's Justification and Community Response

• ⚖️ A Homeland Security spokesperson stated the family had an order of removal and that the father's disruptive behavior endangered the child.
• 🚫 Community leaders are pushing back against ICE's actions, highlighting the trauma caused by such separations.

Know Your Rights PSA

• 📢 Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani released a public service announcement reminding New Yorkers of their rights when encountering ICE agents.
• ❓ The PSA advises individuals to ask, "Am I free to go?" repeatedly if detained.

Support for the Detained Child

• 💌 The community collected letters for the six-year-old, which were handed over to his first-grade teacher with the hope of giving them to him upon his return to class.