Albany, New York – January 8, 2026
U.S. Weighs Deportation of man Who Secretly Filmed Xinjiang Internment Camps
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A Chinese national who risked his life to document alleged human rights abuses against Uyghurs in Xinjiang now faces potential deportation from the United States, sparking outrage from press freedom advocates.
- Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is urging the U.S. government to grant asylum to Guan Heng, a Chinese national who documented alleged internment camps in Xinjiang.
- Guan Heng was arrested by Immigration adn Customs Enforcement (ICE) in August 2025 and initially faced deportation to Uganda,a move RSF says would have exposed him to further persecution.
- His case is scheduled to be reviewed in immigration court on January 12, 2026, where a judge could grant him asylum.
The fate of Guan Heng hangs in the balance as the U.S. government reconsiders his deportation.Guan bravely documented alleged internment camps and evidence of mistreatment of the Uyghur minority in China’s Xinjiang province,a region shrouded in secrecy. If deported back to China, he could face severe state repression and imprisonment.
A Risky Mission to Expose Xinjiang
In 2020, Guan Heng spent several hours filming alleged internment camps and gathering evidence of mistreatment within Xinjiang. He fled China in 2021,making a solitary journey by boat to florida. Upon arrival in the United States, he promptly uploaded his footage to YouTube and filed for asylum within weeks.
Guan Heng’s work proved invaluable to global understanding of the situation in Xinjiang, notably as autonomous media access to the region has been severely restricted. According to reporting from BuzzFeed News, which won a Pulitzer Prize for its coverage of Xinjiang, “Mr. Guan provided crucial evidence for our research at great personal risk.” They described his courage as “remarkable.”
In August 2025, Guan Heng was arrested by ICE officers near Albany, New York, while his asylum application was pending. In December, ICE issued a notice of deportation to Uganda, a move that would have possibly exposed him to transnational persecution and eventual deportation to china. However, that deportation did not occur.
Press Freedom Under Threat
“RSF is appalled that the U.S. government is attempting to deport Guan Heng,” said Clayton Weimers, head of RSF’s U.S. office. “His work has exposed the falsehoods spread by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) about these camps. Without Guan’s contributions, U.S. media would have had great difficulty reporting on these camps.” The State Department,under the Trump management,previously confirmed that the CCP has committed crimes against humanity and genocide in Xinjiang. “It would be unimaginable to put Guan at risk of falling back into their hands.He must be granted asylum in the United States.”
China currently holds the dubious distinction of imprisoning the largest number of journalists worldwide. In the 2025 Press Freedom Rankings, China was ranked 178th out of 180 countries. According to RSF, 79 journalists are currently imprisoned in Xinjiang, including Ilham Tohti, a Sakharov Prize winner. Journalists reporting on human rights violations from abroad frequently face the threat of transnational repression.
Guan Heng is scheduled to appear in immigration court again on January 12, 2026, where the judge has the power to grant him asylum and offer protection from potential persecution.
