Chinese Human Rights Lawyer Detained by ICE While Awaiting Asylum Decision
A Chinese human rights lawyer living in Pennsylvania while awaiting a decision on his U.S. asylum case has been detained by ICE, sparking concern among supporters that he could be sent back to a country where he fears persecution.
Wu Shaoping, 48, was arrested Wednesday, July 15, near Mount Holly Springs, Pennsylvania, while working as a contract delivery driver for Amazon. According to his attorney, John Visher, Wu was pulled over during a routine traffic stop and told the officer about his pending asylum application and employment authorization document. Because Wu lacks legal status while his case is pending, police notified immigration officials, who took him into custody and transferred him to the Moshannon Valley Processing Center in Clearfield County, Pennsylvania, where he remains held. A hearing in his case is scheduled for July 27.
Wu's wife, Caoliu Li, said her husband had faced years of questioning and harassment from Chinese authorities but remained committed to his work. "All along, he has been very focused on the things that are unfair in China and how to change them," Li said, speaking from the family's home in Lancaster County, where she lives with the couple's 17-year-old daughter.
Speaking by phone from the detention center, Wu described his reasons for coming to the United States. "I came here not only for my freedom, but for the freedom of other Chinese people," he said, with a friend interpreting from Mandarin.
A History of Human Rights Work in China
Wu began his career as a commercial lawyer in China before shifting into human rights work in the 2010s, taking on cases involving political dissidents and religious minorities, including members of Falun Gong, a religious movement banned by the Chinese government in 1999.
In 2019, Wu attended a meeting with other prominent human rights lawyers and activists in China. Within days, the Chinese government began detaining participants from that meeting, some of whom remain imprisoned. Wu fled the country shortly after and arrived in the U.S. on a tourist visa, applying for asylum the following year. He has continued his advocacy from abroad, criticizing the Chinese Communist Party's reach beyond its borders. "The CCP is exercising long-arm jurisdiction and carrying out transnational repression against people worldwide, in the name of the law," Wu told The Epoch Times in an interview published in June.
What Happens Next
The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement that Wu had overstayed his visa by six years and had previously been offered $2,600 and a free flight to voluntarily leave the country. Wu's supporters dispute the characterization of his detention as a routine immigration enforcement matter.
Bob Fu, a friend and fellow advocate, said the arrest crossed a line. "ICE agents acted illegally in Pennsylvania by arresting my friend, dedicated Christian human rights lawyer Wu Shaoping, who has legal status staying in the U.S. soil with his family," Fu said.
Supporters and family members say deportation would put Wu at serious risk, given his history representing dissidents and religious minorities challenging the Chinese government. His case adds to a broader pattern of Chinese asylum seekers, including activists and human rights advocates, being detained by immigration authorities in recent months, even as their asylum claims remain unresolved.
Wu's family is awaiting the outcome of his July 27 hearing.
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