A U.S. immigration judge has granted asylum to Guan Heng, who exposed human rights abuses in China and fears persecution if sent back. Guan arrived in the U.S. illegally in 2021 and has been in custody since August. The Department of Homeland Security initially planned to deport him to Uganda but dropped the plan after his plight raised public concern. Guan in 2020 secretly filmed detention facilities in Xinjiang, adding to a body of evidence of what activists say are widespread rights abuses in the Chinese region. The immigration judge ruled on Wednesday that he had established his eligibility for asylum. Guan remains jailed in New York pending a possible appeal by the Department of Homeland Security.
