PEORIA, Ariz. – The owner of a successful Peoria sushi restaurant, who has lived in the U.S. for more than two decades without legal status, is facing deportation to Hong Kong within weeks.
What we know:
Kelly Yu was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on May 28 and has been held at the Eloy Detention Center.
Her husband, Aldo, said she came to the U.S. when she was 19 and pregnant, seeking a better life and trying to escape China’s one-child policy.
“She came here 21 years ago,” Aldo said Monday, Aug. 11.
Homeland Security Investigations confirmed Yu had entered the U.S. illegally from Mexico in 2004 and was ordered to be removed in 2005. She pursued several appeals that were all denied, with her final appeal dismissed in 2016.
Yu has no criminal record, employs 30 people and has a daughter who is a U.S. citizen.
“She’s a hard worker, dedicated, loveable, funny,” her husband said.
Kelly Yu and her husband Aldo
‘I wasn’t allowed to say bye’
Aldo described her detention, saying, “As soon as she went into the office, I didn’t even get a chance to sit down on the bench. When they opened the door, there were maybe 6, 7, 10 agents surrounding her and cuffed her in front of me. I wasn’t allowed to say bye. She gave me her ring, and I put it on my pinky and that’s it.”
Both local political groups, Northwest Valley Indivisible and the GOP Chair of Legislative District 29, have voiced support for Yu.
“I feel it’s important to get involved because I do not believe she is one of the worst of the worst,” said Lisa Everett, the GOP Chair of Legislative District 29.
Brent Peak, co-chair of Northwest Valley Indivisible, added, “She has been in the country for 20 years. There’s no criminal record. She has a child who was born here and is a citizen. She’s built a successful business; she has given back to the community. She is the kind of person we would want in our community.”
What’s next:
Aldo is scheduled to meet with Sen. Ruben Gallego on Tuesday, Aug. 12, to plead his wife’s case.