The article highlights the challenges faced by asylum seeker Lu Xianying during his immigration court proceedings in Louisiana. Detained and facing removal hearings, Lu struggled to communicate due to a lack of suitable interpretation services in his native Gan Chinese. The majority of 17 detainees in the court had no representation, exemplifying the difficulties in the U.S. immigration system. Lu expressed fear of deportation to China and confusion regarding his asylum application, which had not been communicated clearly to him. The case of another detainee, Mahmoud Khalil, has gained international attention amid ongoing government efforts to deport him under unusual legal provisions.
Behind the reinforced doors of courtroom number two, at a remote detention centre in central Louisiana, Lu Xianying sat alone before an immigration judge unable to communicate.
I am afraid to return to China, he told the court, as he described how he had already filed an asylum application after crossing the border into Texas in March 2024.
Lu, who had only recently been detained, struggled to understand, as the judge asked him to list his country of return should he be deported.
His case has drawn international attention as the Trump administration attempts to deport the pro-Palestinian activist under rarely used executive provisions of US immigration law.
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