Queer Fujianese poet, writer, and drag performer Wo Chan and his family are facing deportation in a pretty messed up situation after an immigration official issued them false naturalization documents.
Help Poet Wo Chan & His Family Fight Unjust Deportation
In 2006, Department of Homeland Security supervisor Robert Schofield was convicted of bribery and falsifying immigration documents. Of his nearly 200 victims, all were Asian. Chan's family thought they were lawfully obtaining citizenship, but DHS thinks otherwise. Starting in 2011, his family was stripped of U.S. citizenship and are now subject to deportation proceedings.
In Chan's own words:
I am writing today because my mother, father, and I are facing unjust deportation charges due to the criminal actions of former Homeland Security supervisor Robert Schofield.
In 2002, my father and mother applied for naturalization through the Department of Homeland Security. My parents believed they were lawfully applying for citizenship at the time, when in fact, Schofield was profiting off of them. He spoke Chinese and was the acting assistant director for examinations from 1998-2004. In 2006, he was convicted of bribery and various related crimes in connection with his issuance of certificates of naturalization to nearly 200 applicants, all of whom are in the Asian American community. Read more about Schofield's crimes and the families he's violated here.
My mother, father, and I represent three of those applicants who fell victim to Schofield's scheme in 2002. In 2011 and 2012, we were stripped of our US citizenships and in 2013, we were placed under deportation proceedings.
A judge recently expedited the family's trial, and Wo Chan is asking for the public's support in raising $5,000 to help pay legal fees. You can send your contributions to Wo Chan and his family on their GoFundMe page.