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The United States has reportedly abandoned efforts to deport a Chinese national who helped document alleged human rights abuses against Uyghur Muslims to Uganda, according to his lawyer.
Guan Heng, a Chinese citizen-journalist, fled China in 2021 after secretly recording footage of what he described as detention camps in the Xinjiang region.
Reuters reports that he later released the video after arriving in the United States, where he applied for asylum.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained Guan in August for entering the country illegally, as part of President Donald Trump’s renewed immigration crackdown.
He is currently being held at a detention facility in New York state.
The case sparked controversy due to Guan’s role in documenting abuses in Xinjiang, which the U.S. government during Trump’s first term officially classified as genocide.
His lawyer and supporters argued that deporting him to Uganda would expose him to serious risk, citing China’s strong political and economic influence in the East African nation.
Uganda recently signed an agreement with the United States to accept migrants from third countries, raising concerns among human rights advocates.
Guan’s lawyer, Allen Chen, said the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) had formally notified him that it would no longer seek to remove his client to Uganda.
However, Chen said it remains unclear whether U.S. authorities will attempt to deport Guan to another country, though he described a return to China as unlikely given Guan’s high-profile dissident status.
Under DHS policy, migrants may be deported to third countries if U.S. authorities receive diplomatic assurances that they will not face persecution or if migrants are given short notice of the transfer.
Chen described the withdrawal of the Uganda deportation order as a positive step, adding that Guan is expected to receive a bond hearing in the coming weeks.
His asylum case, however, could take several years to resolve.
A DHS spokesperson said Guan entered the United States illegally at an unknown time and location, and confirmed that all his claims would be considered by an immigration judge.
The spokesperson added that further information on the case would be released in due course.
The Chinese embassy in Washington did not respond to requests for comment.
Guan traveled through South America to the Bahamas before making a dangerous boat journey to the Florida coast. He filed his asylum application shortly after arriving in the United States in 2021.
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