Chinese Restaurant Owner in Upstate New York Taken into ICE Custody on His Way to Work; After 20-Plus Years in Town, Mayor and Community Rally Behind Family
MOUNT MORRIS, N.Y. — The owner of a Chinese restaurant in Mount Morris, in Livingston County in upstate New York, was taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Tuesday, October 20, while on his way to work with his wife, according to Rochester-area television station 13WHAM. Video posted to social media and shared with 13WHAM shows Dian Zhao Lin being detained and placed into a vehicle by two federal agents. 13WHAM reported on the morning of October 22 that he is being held at the ICE detention center in Batavia.
Lin's daughter Yujin, one of six children in the family, told 13WHAM on Wednesday that her parents immigrated from China and have owned the well-loved restaurant in Mount Morris for more than 20 years, and that her father is known in the community as "Mr. Lin." "Seeing the force and physical attack that the ICE officers were putting on my dad is incredibly devastating and hurtful," she said, adding that her parents answered all the officers' questions and presented all the identification requested, and that she did not dare show the video to her mother, "knowing that she's gonna cry." 13WHAM said it has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security but has not heard back; ICE has not publicly stated a reason for the detention.
Since Lin's arrest, his wife has kept the restaurant open and has been running it herself, and many longtime customers have stopped by to show the family support. "Seeing her all by herself, knowing that she has a pain inside of her and not having her partner by her side, that breaks my heart," customer Jessica Penacora told 13WHAM. Village Mayor Kelly Bacon said the Lin family is a well-known staple in the community: "This is really difficult for our community. For me personally, it is devastating. We've known the Lin family for, honestly, as far back as I can remember." A petition on Change.org is also calling for Lin's immediate release and for his right to fair and proper legal due process to be respected. (GSM, from 13WHAM reporting, October 21-22)
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：纽约州芒特莫里斯一带的杰纳西河与芒特莫里斯水坝（资料图）。照片：Andre Carrotflower，CC BY-SA 4.0，经Wikimedia Commons。The Genesee River and the Mount Morris dam near Mount Morris, New York (file photo). Photo: Andre Carrotflower, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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