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Amos Yee remains detained in the US despite being granted asylum

SINGAPORE — Singaporean teen blogger Amos Yee remains detained in the United States despite being granted asylum last Friday, the law firm representing him said.

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SINGAPORE — Singaporean teen blogger Amos Yee remains detained in the United States despite being granted asylum last Friday, the law firm representing him said.

Amos, 18, has been detained in the US since Dec 16 last year.

In a media update on Wednesday (March 29), Grossman Law LLC said they were informed by officers at the Chicago Field Office of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that Amos will remain in detention “on a potential, but not yet filed, appeal” by the US Department of Homeland Security.

Protesting that the appeal is “immaterial”, the law firm said: “Yee should have been released immediately after he was granted asylum”.

Last Friday, a US immigration judge in Chicago granted Amos asylum, saying he was persecuted for his political opinions in Singapore.

According to a 13-page opinion by US immigration judge Samuel Cole, Amos, who had been jailed twice in Singapore, qualifies as a political refugee.

Calling Amos a “young political dissident”, Mr Cole said Amos’ prosecution at the hands of the Singapore authorities “constitute persecution on account of Yee’s political opinions”.

On Wednesday, the law firm said they are renewing a request to release Amos on humanitarian parole and is exploring all other viable legal options.

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