Mount Morris restaurant owner taken into custody by ICE

Immigration and Customs Enforcement has taken another individual into custody in Western New York.

According to an ICE spokesperson, Chinese national Sin Di Ling was seized by agents on Tuesday in Mount Morris.

Ling reportedly entered the U.S. more than two decades ago.

An immigration judge ordered that he be removed from the country in 1999, but that never happened. He now faces deportation.

ICE released a statement saying in part:

“He has enjoyed the benefits of living and working (illegally) in the U.S. for more than 25 years. He will remain in ICE custody pending removal.”

Ling owns a Chinese restaurant in Mount Morris.

(Spectrum News 1)

Village Mayor Kelly Bacon knows the Ling family well. Her staff says they are doing everything they can to bring Ling home.

“Once it happens to someone you know or love, you can feel it more deeply, I guess,” said Bacon. “But when this is happening on the streets that you drive every day and to a family you have known for many, many years, it does hit you differently.”

Ling’s arrest comes just days after a SUNY Brockport employee was detained by ICE.

Rep. Joe Morelle says he’s contacted the Department of Homeland Security, demanding they immediately free German Machado. Machado and his family say they fled their home in Venezuela due to violent threats in 2016.

DHS officials say he was only cleared to stay in the U.S. until 2017. His family says Machado has a valid work permit and an approved asylum application pending resolution.