The subject of immigration on the national news is now part of our local news according to a story from Nashville’s WZTV.
The American dream turned into a nightmare for a mid-state family, after a husband and father could be deported for trying to do the right thing. Now the town of Woodbury is banding together, writing letters to bring a Chinese restaurant owner home.
The family of Shaqun Zhao says he was trapped trying to do the right thing.
They say he was in the process of getting a Green Card, then got called in for an interview to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Office, and then taken into custody.
The family owns China Star in Woodbury, where people come because they love the food, but even more they truly care the people who make it, the Zhaos.
That family got ripped apart last week, and is now left without a father, husband, and primary source of income.
Ya Ling (15 year old daughter) translated for her mother, “She’s afraid her husband is going to be sent back home and she’ll be over here alone working.”
Ling and her 10-year-old brother Jay were both born in Tennessee, mother Meizhu Dong passed a citizenship test after coming here from China in 1999 for a better life. Now, they’re just heartbroken, and terrified they’ll never see their family rock ever again.
Ya Ling went on to say, “I would say he’s the best father that anybody can have, and I hope he can get out and we can be together as a family again.”
In a desperate plea for help, the Zhaos are turning to the loyal customers of their 13-year-old business, asking them to write letters in support of Shaqun’s citizenship.
Ya Ling says her dad is at the LaSalle detention facility in Louisiana. She says he calls his restaurant every day to check in with his family, who is hoping and praying he’s returned to them soon.
