BOSTON (Reuters) - A Chinese music student went on trial on Monday on U.S. charges that he harassed an activist who posted fliers at the Berklee College of Music in Boston supporting democracy in China and threatened to report her activities to Chinese law enforcement.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Alathea Porter told a federal jury in Boston that Xiaolei Wu, 25, scared the activist, referred to only as Zooey in court, by making threats online to chop off her hands and report her to the Chinese government because of her “reactionary posters.”
“She was afraid for herself, and she was afraid for her family, who was back in China,” Porter said in her opening statement to a 12-person jury.
The trial comes as U.S. and Western authorities continue to warn that China’s government has increasingly exerted pressure to silence its critics abroad.
Anyone who isn’t a US citizen has an immigration status. You can be on a variety of visas, and as a student they are probably on a J1 or H1 visa. Other visas exist for a wide variety of purposes, and they all dictate how you can stay in the US: how long, under what conditions, etc.
You can also have a green card, which signifies that you are a permanent resident - you no longer need a visa but your immigration status can still be revoked (albeit with much more difficulty).
There are also people with no immigration status and no legal right to stay in the US. These people won’t always be instantly deported but they are subject to it at any time.
Finally if you’re a US citizen you have no immigration status since you are not an immigrant. Citizenship can’t be revoked except in exceedingly rare cases (like treason).