Chinese-American community alarmed after China national dies in ICE custody

The Chinese-American community has expressed anger and concern over the death of a Chinese national, Lianyong Wei, in custody of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on US territory. Wei, 51, died on August 23 in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), though the agency did not disclose the death until this week.

Gabriel Chin, a professor at the University of California, Davis School of Law, stated that the incident is an attack on the existence of the community and urged Asian-Americans to be energized to stop it. Wei was arrested on August 21 on criminal charges following an alleged assault on a family of five and taken into ICE custody in advance of deportation proceedings the next day.

On the morning of August 23, he was found unresponsive in his prison cell and later passed away at a local hospital. The cause of death is under investigation. This is the fifth Chinese national to die in ICE or US Border Patrol custody since March 2025, according to Associated Press tracking. Chinese-American advocates blame the rise in deaths in custody on ICE's rapid recruitment under aggressive immigration policies and the lack of transparency and basic duty of care.

The Chinese Consulate General in Los Angeles has expressed serious concerns to US authorities over the incident, requiring a thorough investigation and measures to prevent recurrence.