Controversies Emerge Over Immigration Enforcement and Human Rights
Recent events have brought increased scrutiny to immigration enforcement practices in the United States and human rights issues abroad. A five-year-old U.S. citizen was deported to Honduras, while a Chinese man who documented human rights abuses in Xinjiang was granted asylum in the U.S.
Congressman Joaquin Castro met with five-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father at the Dilley detention center in Texas on January 28, 2026, according to Castro's social media post. Castro shared a photograph of Liam resting in his father's arms and stated he told Liam how much his family, school, and country loved him and was praying for him. Liam became a symbol of the reach of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations after being detained on his way home from preschool in Minneapolis last week.
In a separate case, five-year-old Génesis Ester Gutiérrez Castellanos, a U.S. citizen, was deported to Honduras on January 11, alongside her mother, Karen Guadalupe Gutiérrez Castellanos, according to The Guardian. Génesis had never been to Honduras before. Génesis's mother, whose visa application was pending, said that she would send her daughter back to the U.S. soon accompanied by another relative. "The day I separate from my daughter will be the most painful of my life," she said.
Conversely, a Chinese man, Guan Heng, who filmed evidence of alleged human rights abuses in Xinjiang, China, was granted asylum in the U.S. A U.S. immigration judge granted Guan asylum, according to The Guardian. Guan's lawyer stated that his client's exposed evidence of persecution of Uyghurs made him a "textbook example of why asylum should exist."
In other news, a report from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated that President Donald Trump's deployment of troops in major U.S. cities in 2025 cost nearly $500 million, according to Al Jazeera. Trump activated over 10,000 National Guard soldiers and active-duty marines and sent them to Los Angeles, Washington, DC, Memphis, Portland, Chicago, and New Orleans, claiming it was to deter crime and protect federal immigration enforcement.
Meanwhile, in China, 11 people linked to Myanmar criminal gangs were executed for their involvement in scam operations, state media reported on Thursday. The scam compounds have flourished in Myanmar's lawless borderlands, part of a multibillion-dollar illicit industry. Beijing has stepped up cooperation with south-east Asian nations to crack down on the industry.
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