New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said she spoke on Thursday evening with U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin about the recent ICE arrests of two men in western New York, Dian Zhao Lin of Mount Morris and German Machado of SUNY Brockport, and is pushing for their return, WHEC reported.
Source: WHEC via WYSL NewsPower 1040
In a Facebook post on Thursday, Hochul said: "I want their families to know that I'm doing everything in my power to bring their loved ones home." She added: "I'm encouraged by the Secretary's willingness to engage, and I'll continue pushing for their swift return," WHEC reported.
Lin, originally from China, has owned and operated the Mun Yuen Chinese restaurant in Mount Morris for more than 20 years, WHEC reported. ICE agents arrested him on Tuesday, October 20, while he was on his way to work with his wife, according to 13WHAM's reporting on the arrest. Video shared with 13WHAM showed him being detained and placed into a vehicle by two agents.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, as reported by local outlets covering the arrest, Lin entered the United States without authorization in 1998 and received a removal order in 1999; DHS says a 2023 appeal to reopen his case was denied and that he remains in custody pending removal. Those are the department's stated grounds for the detention.
Lin's daughter Yujin Lin told 13WHAM that watching the video of her father's detention was devastating for the family, one of six children. Mount Morris Mayor Kelly Bacon and community members have called for his release, and his wife has kept the restaurant open and running on her own since the arrest, local reporting said.
Machado, an IT technician at SUNY Brockport, was detained earlier in October and is being held at the Buffalo Federal Detention Center in Batavia, according to Alissa Karl, vice president of the United University Professions union, WHEC reported. NewsRadio WHAM 1180 reported on October 14 that Machado was taken into custody outside his Batavia home, that his wife says the couple fled Venezuela and applied for asylum in 2016, and that union members planned a rally in his support.
Source: NewsRadio WHAM 1180
Neither ICE nor DHS had announced any change in either man's custody status in the reports available at publication time. Awaaz Punjab will update this story if the department or the governor's office announces a decision.