NEW YORK — Federal anti-immigrant policies have left a Chinese woman, Jiang Zhenxing, recovering from a miscarriage after being denied medical treatment while she was awaiting deportation.
Jiang came to the U.S. nearly 10 years ago, marrying Tien Xiaozhang two years later. The two opened a Chinese restaurant in Philadelphia.
Jiang had been regularly reporting to the Immigrations and Customs Enforcement office in Philadelphia until Feb. 7, when ICE officials discovered she was three months pregnant. She was then separated from her husband, placed into a car and taken to New York’s JFK airport for immediate deportation.
Jiang was reportedly pushed and hit in the stomach twice by ICE officials, and began to experience severe stomach pain at the airport. The officials refused to allow medical treatment, telling her she would have to go back to China to deliver the twins she was expecting.
Eventually an ambulance did arrive, but too late: she had miscarried. It was only at that point that immigration officials contacted Jiang’s husband, who had no idea of his wife’s whereabouts.
New York City Councilmember John Liu (D-Queens) called the ICE actions “cruel and atrocious,” saying, “This is a horrific example of a system that castigates and dehumanizes human beings.”
In its official response to complaints, the ICE said Jiang’s “arranged departure to China” was “delayed for medical reasons” that were “immediately addressed.” The department said, “Once she is cleared medically, efforts to effectuate her repatriation will resume.”
The statement “pours salt on the wounds,” Liu said. “This inhuman and callous bureaucratic response is almost as bad as the initial treatment inflicted on Ms. Jiang by the ICE officers who detained her.”
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