In the 1990s, there was a massive influx of illegal young people from the remote countryside of Fuzhou sneaking into the United States to escape poverty and pursue the American Dream. Most took up the long hours and high labor-intensive jobs in restaurants, with salaries only from $600-$1000 per month. Under the extraordinary pressure of survival and debt repayment, many illegal Chinese immigrants were forced by gangs to commit non-life-threatening crimes like kidnapping or armed robberies, in the hope of paying off their illegal border-crossing fee, which ranged from US$25,000 to $50,000. 

Unfortunately, for many of the arrested Chinese, due to lack of English knowledge, misconception about the Criminal Justice System of the United States, the ignorance of the plea bargain advantage, and some racial discrimination issues during the trials, they ended up being convicted with excessive unduly sentences, ranged from 40 years to life imprisonment, even without a single life was taken in many of their cases. 

Incarcerated Chinese individuals are typically a neglected and invisible minority in American prisons. While most of them obtained excellent records of behavior, they still face additional unfair treatment and hardships because of their race. Since many of them do not have families in the US, they are physically and emotionally isolated. Some of them have even suffered from extreme loneliness, fear, and frustration, and sadly, in their desperation, few chose to end their lives by committing suicide. 

New York Chinese Prison Ministry Volunteer Team has been traveling extensively to visit incarcerated Chinese individuals in various NYS prisons over the past 30 years. Our long-time volunteers can witness the transformation of the lives of many prisoners who have grown into mature, decent, and responsible men today. We can see that they felt deep remorse for decades about the crimes they committed. They had also paid a heavy price for spending their best youth time behind bars. Now, for those who still have lots of time to do in prisons, their single most desire is to go home to see their aged parents before the parents pass away. They are begging for a chance to fulfill their final filial duty before it is too late. 

Therefore, with the following strong reasons, we implore Governor Hochul to immediately issue a special Executive Order to allow those incarcerated Chinese individuals who have served long prison time, such as 25 years or above, and voluntarily desire to be repatriated to China:  

- After the New York State prison guards' strike in 2025, Governor Hochul wanted to speed up prison reforms, reduce prison populations, and close more prisons.

- Reducing the prison population will reduce the economic burden on New York State. It saves taxpayers’ money and helps to avoid wasting public funds. NYS prisons spend nearly $116,000 per year to incarcerate one person (https://www.visualcapitalist.com/cost-per-prisoner-in-us-states/)

- Based on humanitarian principles, criminal justice should not take punishment as its ultimate goal, but to bring redemption and restoration to the offenders.

- Deporting Chinese prisoners immediately will not cause any harm to American society, and these home-coming people can use their personal tragic stories to educate the younger generation from repeating the same mistakes. 

Here, we, the Chinese Prison Ministry Volunteer Team, urge everyone to sign to support the redemption of the Chinese in New York State prisons, and implore Governor Hochul to immediately issue a special executive order to expel Chinese prisoners who voluntarily want to be deported to China. We also ask everyone to share this petition with your family and friends and sign it to support it. Thank you very much.

The Chinese Prison Ministry Volunteer Team, with gratitude. 

Traditional Chinese 繁體中文:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UtxFGIfi_bC9c_YLCrqYIGxxH-mtegzQ/view?usp=drive_link

Simplified Chinese 简体中文: 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UR6LYypOb-s0Sz-TKUnMvo2iIu7BHMNw/view?usp=drive_link