The arrest of Ming Li Hui, a longtime Missouri resident originally from Hong Kong, by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has stirred emotional reactions in the small town of Kennett, Missouri—a place where over 80% of voters supported Donald Trump in the last presidential election.
Hui, who goes by Carol, has lived in Kennett for 20 years, working at a local pancake and waffle restaurant and raising three children, including a 14-year-old son with autism. Her detention has come as a shock to many in the conservative town, where Trump’s  crackdown on immigration was widely supported.
Speaking from jail on The Daily Blast podcast by The New Republic, Hui said, “Please protect me. I’m so sorry. I have a poor English. I don’t know. I just want to [be with] my family with my children, stay here in the U.S. for freedom and have [a] better life.”
ICE officers arrested Hui in April after she traveled from Kennett to St. Louis for what she believed would be a routine appointment to renew her work permit. Instead, she was taken into custody. The news first broke in early May via the Delta Dunklin Democrat.
According to the New York Times, Hui had been summoned unexpectedly for the appointment. Her partner was skeptical, but she insisted on going, saying, “I just wanted to do the right thing.”
Local residents, including some of Trump’s strongest supporters, have rallied behind her.
“I voted for Donald Trump, and so did practically everyone here,” said Vanessa Cowart, a friend from Hui’s church. “But no one voted to deport moms. We were all under the impression we were just getting rid of the gangs, the people who came here in droves.”
Community support for Hui has been vocal. Her church organized a prayer vigil and has been delivering meals to her family. Her workplace even hosted a fundraiser, dubbed “Carol Day,” to support her children.
Some residents have contacted state and national Republican lawmakers in hopes of preventing her deportation, but most say they’ve only received generic responses.
Hui’s attorney, Raymond Bolourtchi, explained on The Daily Blast that she first arrived in the U.S. in 2004 and overstayed her visa. She later entered a fraudulent marriage with an American citizen, paying $2,000 in an attempt to gain permanent residency. That marriage ended in 2009.
Although Hui later applied for asylum, her request was denied. Her case eventually reached the U.S. Court of Appeals, which also dismissed her appeal. Since then, she had been living under an order of supervision, which allowed her to work legally in the U.S.
Bolourtchi has filed an emergency motion to halt Hui’s deportation and reopen her case. As of now, she remains in custody, awaiting a decision that could determine whether she is allowed to stay with her children—or be deported back to Hong Kong.
