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Tibetan asylum seeker detained six months, nearly deported to Uganda

Jul 12, 2025 · Buffalo, NY, China

Tibetan asylum seeker detained six months, nearly deported to Uganda

Tenzin, a 29-year-old Tibetan refugee originally from Nepal, arrived at Newark airport on July 12 and was detained after attempting to cross into Canada. He spent over six months in ICE detention in Batavia, NY, where his asylum case was dismissed by a judge due to an interpreter's illness, then targeted for deportation to Uganda under the Trump administration's pretermission policy. His attorney successfully intervened to have him deported to Canada instead, where he arrived on February 19.

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