China presses US for answers after its national dies in ICE custody
The Chinese Government is pressing for answers after a Chinese man died hours after being taken into custody by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement in a US territory. Lianyong Wei, 51, died Aug. 23 at a hospital in the Northern Mariana Islands, ICE announced in a news release.
Wei was arrested Aug. 21 by the Northern Mariana Islands Department of Public Safety on criminal charges stemming from an alleged assault on a family of five at their home, according to ICE. He was taken into ICE custody the next day pending removal proceedings. ICE said a guard at the lockup in Saipan found Wei unresponsive during routine morning checks on Aug. 23. He was taken to a hospital emergency room, where he was pronounced dead after “life-sustaining interventions were initiated,” the agency said, noting that the cause of his death is under investigation.
Wei entered the US territory in February 2019 and was authorised to stay for two weeks, according to ICE. US authorities began removal proceedings in July 2026, and Wei’s next hearing had been scheduled for this month.
The Chinese Consulate General in Los Angeles said it had been notified of Wei’s death.
“We have expressed serious concerns to the relevant US authorities over this incident and required a timely and thorough investigation into the cause of Mr. Wei’s death, notification of the findings, measures to prevent any recurrence of similar incidents, and assistance to the family of the deceased in handling the aftermath,” the consulate said in a statement.
