Has there been a change in the last day or so in the status of Guan Heng, a change in the understanding of his status, or just a change in the reporting? Whatever the case, it seems that the U.S. decision not to deport Guan to Uganda may be broader than that, a decision not to deport him at all as his effort to gain asylum proceeds. On the other hand, it seems that he is still being detained (Associated Press, December 22, 2025).
Rayhan Asat, a human rights lawyer who assisted in the case, said Guan Heng’s lawyer received a letter from DHS stating its decision to withdraw its request to send Guan to Uganda. Asat said she now expects Guan’s asylum case to “proceed smoothly and favorably.”
Zhou Fengsuo, executive director of the advocacy group Human Rights in China, also confirmed the administration’s decision not to deport Guan. “We’re really happy,” Zhou said.
The Department of Homeland Security didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s database lists Guan, 38, as a detainee.
His legal team is working to secure his release from an ICE detention facility in New York on bond, both Zhou and Asat said.
Guan in 2020 secretly filmed detention facilities in Xinjiang, which activists say have been used to lock up as many as 1 million members of ethnic minorities in the region, especially the Uyghurs.
After a lengthy trip from the Chinese mainland to Ecuador, then to the Bahamas, then, by small boat, to Florida, Guan reached the United States and released his videos about the Xinjiang detention facilities on YouTube. His identity was soon revealed, putting himself and his family back in China in jeopardy.
Among those who have spoken up for Guan are Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi, a member of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party; and the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission.
