A New Jersey restaurateur, previously convicted of acting as an unregistered agent of the Chinese government, is now in the custody of US immigration and customs enforcement (ICE), facing likely deportation.
Ming Xi Zhang, a 61-year-old Chinese national and owner of Ya Ya Noodles in Montgomery Township, was arrested on March 24 in Newark, New Jersey, reported the New York Post.
Zhang, widely known in his community as “Sushi John,” pleaded guilty in May 2021 to operating as an agent of China in 2016 without informing the US attorney general, a direct violation of the Foreign Agents Registration Act.
According to ICE, Zhang lawfully entered the US through Los Angeles International Airport in June 2000 but later “violated the terms of his lawful admission.”
As per FAIRUS.org, Zhang admitted to meeting with Chinese security operatives in the Bahamas in 2016 and later delivering $35,000 to a person in New Jersey. He also hosted a Chinese government agent twice at his Princeton-area home. His activities remain partly shrouded in secrecy as court records are sealed.
On April 30, 2024, Zhang was sentenced by a federal judge to three years of probation and fined $10,000. His release on a $150,000 bond following the 2021 plea came with the condition that he could be removed from the US.
“Any illegal alien conducting activities related to espionage, sabotage or export control against the United States is subject to deportation,” said ICE Newark field office Director John Tsoukaris.
He is now being held at the Elizabeth Detention Center as he awaits immigration proceedings. Despite the serious charges, Zhang’s restaurant has remained open and local support appears strong. “The whole town has been really supportive,” a staff member was quoted saying by The New York Post. “Everyone’s been coming in, offering phone numbers, talking to his family”, the member added.
Zhang’s case comes amid a broader Trump administration effort to tighten immigration enforcement and remove individuals deemed national security threats. Similar recent arrests have raised concerns about a growing pattern of Chinese nationals attempting to access sensitive US sites, including military bases, according to FAIRUS.org.
The department of homeland security had recently warned that Chinese-made internet-connected devices, such as surveillance cameras, could be exploited to spy on or disrupt US infrastructure.
