Arizona Senator Ruben Gallego Advocates for Detained Restaurant Owner Kelly Yu

Senator Ruben Gallego met with the family of Kelly Yu on Tuesday, an Arizona restaurant owner currently held in ICE detention, and issued a public statement calling for her release. 

In his social media post, Ruben Gallego described meeting with the family of Kelly Yu, whom he called "a mother, wife, business owner, and job creator who is being held in ICE detention here in Arizona."

Kelly Yu owns multiple restaurants, including Kawaii Sushi in Peoria, Arizona. She entered the United States from China illegally decades ago, reportedly fleeing China's one-child policy. 

According to Gallego, "Kelly fled China in fear of her country's one-child policy. Since then, she has done everything right to try and earn citizenship."

Yu has since established deep community ties and built businesses over the decades. Gallego noted that "Kelly owns multiple restaurants and has spent decades contributing to our state's economy and community."

On May 28th, Yu was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement following an obligated immigration check-in. Gallego described the detention, stating that "a few months ago, when she went to her routine check-in with immigration officials, she was handcuffed on the spot and taken away from her husband and daughter — both U.S. citizens."

The Senator argued that Yu's detention does not improve public safety, stating, "Arizona is not safer because she's in detention, and it will not be better if she's deported." 

He described the current approach as misallocated resources, arguing that "going after people like Kelly is a waste of resources. It's pulling agents away from fighting child exploitation and drug trafficking."

Gallego then criticized what he described as enforcement driven by quotas rather than public safety priorities, claiming the administration is "doing it just to meet some arbitrary deportation quota."

In his statement, Gallego defended Yu's character and contributions: "Kelly is not a threat. She is not a criminal. She is not the 'bad guy.'" He concluded his statement by declaring "This needs to stop" and arguing that "voters didn't elect Trump to tear families like Kelly's apart."

As we recently reported, Representative Greg Stanton was denied access to the Eloy Detention Center in July when he attempted to meet with detainees, including Yu, as part of congressional oversight efforts.

Yu's case has drawn attention from lawmakers and advocates across both parties, raising questions about how immigration enforcement affects long-term residents, small business owners, and families with U.S. citizen children who have established significant community ties over decades.