Amos Yee in US immigration custody after parole release, deportation likely

Amos Yee, a Singaporean national convicted in the United States for child pornography and grooming a minor, is now in the custody of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) following his parole release on 20 November 2025.

A check on ICE’s online detainee locator on 24 November showed that Yee, 27, is being held at the Dodge Detention Facility in Wisconsin. The facility is located roughly four hours by car from Illinois, where he served the bulk of his six-year prison term at Danville Correctional Center.

Yee was released on parole on 20 November at 7.14am Illinois time (9.14pm Singapore time), according to the US Victim Information and Notification Everyday (VINE) system.

It is not clear when he was subsequently transferred into the custody of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), although a check of the agency’s online database on 24 November listed him as detained at the Dodge Detention Facility in Wisconsin.

Yee was previously released on 7 October 2023 but was re-incarcerated a month later for breaching parole terms.

Though official reasons were not disclosed, conditions of his parole included a ban on internet use without approval and prohibitions on being near locations frequented by children.

Yee had been serving a six-year sentence following his 2 December 2021 conviction for soliciting and possessing child pornography. He pleaded guilty to two charges under a plea deal, while 16 others were dropped.

According to court documents, Yee repeatedly solicited explicit images from a 14-year-old girl in Texas in 2019. The exchanges included sexually charged roleplay conducted over WhatsApp, during which Yee also distributed illicit images.

He was arrested in October 2020 by US marshals at his residence in Chicago’s Norwood Park East area. His sentence was backdated to the date of arrest, with initial projections showing incarceration until October 2026, prior to parole eligibility.

During earlier attempts at parole in 2023, Yee’s release was delayed due to difficulties in locating a halfway house that complied with sex offender restrictions. He is registered as a sex offender in the state of Illinois.

A post dated 6 October 2025 on a blog maintained by Yee’s supporters claimed that he had been served immigration papers by ICE prior to his release. This aligns with current ICE procedures, which allow the agency to detain individuals for removal proceedings or other immigration-related enforcement actions.

Yee’s asylum status, granted controversially in March 2017, may now be revoked.

The Department of Homeland Security had opposed his original asylum application, which was nonetheless approved by an immigration judge who ruled that Yee was persecuted for his political views. This decision followed Yee’s repeated run-ins with Singaporean law over his religiously offensive content and politically charged statements.

Prior to entering the US in December 2016, Yee had been jailed twice in Singapore for wounding religious feelings and publishing obscene content.

In 2015, he was sentenced to four weeks’ jail for making offensive comments about Christianity and posting an obscene image of former prime minister Lee Kuan Yew. A year later, he received six weeks’ jail and a S$2,000 fine for similar offences targeting Islam and Christianity.

If deported, Yee is expected to face prosecution in Singapore under the Enlistment Act.

The Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) told The Straits Times that he failed to attend his pre-enlistment medical screening and remained outside the country without a valid exit permit.

Violations of the Enlistment Act carry penalties of up to three years’ jail, a fine of up to S$10,000, or both.

As of now, no date has been set for Yee’s immigration hearing. The US Executive Office for Immigration Review does not currently list a scheduled court appearance.

The Illinois Department of Corrections has also not confirmed the official discharge date from his parole. Yee’s legal future will depend on developments in US immigration court, and the extent to which deportation proceedings will proceed in parallel with the possible revocation of his asylum.