US can choose to deport Hongkongers under Deferred Enforced Departure scheme
Por Matthew Cheng — South China Morning Post – News feed
Advertisement Hong Kong politics Hong Kong Politics US can choose to deport Hongkongers under Deferred Enforced Departure scheme
Department of Homeland Security issues warning after Politico report states a dozen city residents under programme had been detained at airports
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Matthew Cheng Published: 1:42pm, 12 Oct 2026 Updated: 1:44pm, 12 Oct 2026
United States authorities could deport Hong Kong residents granted extended stay under the Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) programme and have not ruled out the option of doing so after a dozen were reportedly detained at local airports.
“The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is not precluded from placing aliens with such temporary administrative designation into removal proceedings, nor is it currently removing them,” a department spokesman said in a reply to the South China Morning Post on Sunday evening.
“Work authorisation or a pending application do not confer legal status in the United States.”
The remarks followed a report by US media outlet Politico that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents had detained at least a dozen Hong Kong residents under the DED programme at local airports.
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