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Illegal immigrant in US loses twin foetuses
By Yu Zhong (China Daily)
Updated: 2006-02-13 05:24
An illegal Chinese immigrant in the United States lost her unborn twins last
week at the airport while being deported, the Beijing News reported yesterday.
Jiang Zhenxing, who was then three-months pregnant, has charged US
immigration officials with causing the miscarriage by their use of force to
repatriate her.
The Chinese Consulate in New York will investigate and work to resolve the
issue.
Jiang, 33, came to the US in 1996 and married a Chinese man two years later.
The couple opened a Chinese restaurant in Philadelphia.
For the last two years, Jiang reported regularly to the local immigration
bureau, until last Tuesday when she was informed of her immediate repatriation.
She told the newspaper that she had appealed for a delay of departure so she
could leave after the birth of her children, but her request was denied.
Jiang said a US official pushed her and bumped her in the stomach twice on
the way to the Kennedy Airport.
Upon arrival, the pregnant woman had stomach pains and was sent to the
Jamaica Hospital in Queens hours later.
After an operation, the hospital removed the dead twin foetuses. Jiang's
condition is now stable, though weak. The hospital has not yet announced the
cause of death.
After the incident, a spokesperson with the US Immigration and Customs
Enforcement argued that there was no violation of law during the repatriation of
Jiang, and it is "not true" that an official's actions led to her miscarriage.
Immigration authorities said Jiang will still be deported after she recuperates.
Cui Aimin, deputy consul-general of the Chinese Consulate in New York, said
the consulate will give necessary support to Jiang, despite her illegal
residency in the US, according to the Beijing News.
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