US drops Uganda deportation order against Chinese dissident, lawyer says

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A view shows the U.S. Department of Homeland Security signage in New York City, U.S., July 21, 2025. REUTERS/Jeenah Moon

WASHINGTON, Dec 19 - The U.S. on Friday dropped its effort to deport a Chinese national who helped document Beijings alleged abuses against Uyghur Muslims to Uganda, the mans lawyer told Reuters.

Guan Heng, a Chinese citizen-journalist, fled the U.S. in 2021 after taking video of alleged concentration camps in Chinas western Xinjiang region. He released the video after arriving in the U.S., where he applied for asylum.

Guan was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in August for illegally entering the country, part of President Donald Trumps immigration crackdown. He remains in a New York state detention center.

His detention and threatened deportation to Uganda has stirred controversy, not least because he helped document abuses in China that the U.S. government during Trumps first term deemed genocide.

His supporters and lawyer say Guan faced almost certain persecution if deported to Uganda. The East African country, where Beijing has considerable political and economic clout, this year entered into an agreement with the U.S. to take in nationals from third countries.

We just got a letter informing that DHS (Department of Homeland Security) will not seek to remove Mr. Guan to Uganda, his lawyer Allen Chen told Reuters.

Chen said it was not clear if Washington would continue to pursue Guans removal, either to China or another country, but said sending such a high-profile dissident back to China would be unlikely.

Under Department of Homeland Security (DHS) policies,