---

A Chinese immigrant featured in The Evangelist last August after her Catholic baptism in the Albany County jail was deported Dec. 29, according to her friends.

The Aug. 5, 2010, story about Yulan Zhang told of her finding faith, an American "family" and English language skills - all while incarcerated.

Naomi is Ms. Zhang's baptismal name, which means "happy."

After she was released from the Albany County Correctional Facility in September, Ms. Zhang spent the next several months in federal detention centers in New England before she was secretly deported.

"She arrived in Beijing on Dec. 30, she wrote to us," said Maryanne Schrank, one of six friends who visited Ms. Zhang regularly at the Albany jail and corresponds with her now.

Friends were unable to see Ms. Zhang in the federal facilities, but she was able to continue practicing her newfound faith in prison and receive communion.

"She is well and misses us very much," Mrs. Schrank said, adding that Ms. Zhang now lives with her son and his wife and was not mistreated by any Chinese authorities, as she had feared she might be.

Ms. Zhang was deported because, in 2008, she allegedly brokered deals with a member of law enforcement posing as a corrupt U.S. Customs official on behalf of several undocumented immigrants seeking illegal green cards.

Approximately $100,000 changed hands. Ms. Zhang was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in April 2009 and later pleaded guilty to several counts of bribery.

Mrs. Schrank is a volunteer with the New Sanctuary Movement, a local group that works with religious congregations to help immigrants with basic and legal needs. Her own son was once detained in Haiti.

Mrs. Schrank said that Ms. Zhang, who is an accountant, is unable to find work in China and now has to resort to cooking and sewing to make a living.

Ever hopeful, Ms. Zhang still emails her friends regularly and hopes they can visit her in China someday.

"We would love to see her again. She is just lovely," Mrs. Schrank said.

(Staff writer Angela Cave contributed to this story. Read the original article here.)

(02/03/11) [[In-content Ad]]

---