No child should be torn from their parent in a courtroom, especially not a 6-year-old child during a scheduled immigration hearing.

That is what happened to Yuanxin Zheng, a first-grade student at P.S. 166 in Astoria, Queens. Nearly two weeks ago, Yuanxin and his father, Fei Zheng, appeared for an immigration appointment at 26 Federal Plaza. They never came home together.

Fei Zheng is now being held in an adult immigration detention center in Orange County. His son, Yuanxin, has been placed in an undisclosed location under the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement. They are separated, without access to each other, and without any clear plan for reunification.

This is cruel, unnecessary, and unjust.

We are calling on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to take immediate action to:

• Reunite Yuanxin with his father without delay
• Halt deportation proceedings until a full family-centered review is completed
• Ensure that any child involved in immigration enforcement is treated with the same dignity and protection required under U.S. child welfare standards

Community leaders, elected officials, teachers, and neighbors have rallied in support of Yuanxin. Letters written by his classmates now sit in the hope that they will reach him when he returns to school. But a child his age should never have been removed from his father’s care without a clear and urgent safety concern.

DHS has claimed the father was disruptive, but that is no justification for separating a child and placing him in a hidden facility. This action is traumatic, harmful, and out of step with what the American immigration system should be.

Please sign this petition to demand the immediate reunification of Yuanxin Zheng and his father, and to stand against the use of family separation in immigration enforcement.

Children belong with their parents, not in government custody.

Photo Credit: NBC