Residents of Kennett, Missouri, are celebrating the release of Ming Li Hui, who goes by the name of Carol, after the mother of three was released from immigration custody on Wednesday following more than a month in jail.
“They released me,” Hui said in a voicemail left for her lawyer, which was relayed to The New York Times. According to the Times, Hui’s attorney, Raymond Bolourtchi, said the 45-year-old “had been released under a federal immigration program that offers a ‘temporary safe haven’ to immigrants from Hong Kong and a handful of other countries who are concerned about returning there.”
Hui arrived in the U.S. from Hong Kong two decades ago and was detained on April 30 after she was summoned to a federal immigration office in St. Louis without explanation. Once there, authorities informed her she was being detained for overstaying her tourist visa and would soon be deported.
The residents of Kennett quickly banded together to rally for Hui’s release. The staff at John’s Waffle and Pancake House, the diner where Hui had worked before her detention, organized an event last month called “Carol Day,” raising nearly $20,000 and collecting hundreds of signatures for a petition to “bring Carol home.”
For the residents of Kennett, which is part of a rural county that voted overwhelmingly for Trump in November, Hui’s arrest has forced them to confront the reality of the president’s mass deportation effort.
“I voted for Donald Trump, and so did practically everyone here,” one resident told the Times. “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 … This is Carol.”
Bolourtchi said Hui’s release “never would have happened without her community standing behind her.”
On Wednesday, one of Hui’s neighbors made the four-hour journey to the jail where she was being held to drive her home. In Kennett, Hui’s family and dozens of residents gathered at the restaurant to celebrate her return. Hui’s lawyer said her release “never would have happened without her community standing behind her.” Liridona Ramadani, whose family runs the diner, described Hui’s homecoming in a post on Facebook. “One moment we’ll never forget: when her kids ran into her arms for the first time in over a month. There wasn’t a dry eye in sight,” Ramadani wrote. “Many of us stood there with tears streaming down our faces, overwhelmed by the pure love in that hug. It was one of those moments that reminds you what truly matters … Welcome home, Carol. We’ve missed you so much.” Hui is scheduled to check in with immigration authorities again on June 25. While Hui’s release is temporary, her lawyer said he was hopeful she can remain in the U.S. “By no means are we in the clear,” Bolourtchi told the Times. “But at this point I’m optimistic. It’s an immediate sigh of relief.”
Allison Detzel is an editor/producer for MS NOW.
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