Sushi John Zhang, convicted of spying for China, now faces deportation as ICE cracks down under Trump’s hardline immigration push.
From sushi rolls to secret deals, a quiet New Jersey town is at the center of a spy scandal ripped from a Cold War thriller. Ming Xi Zhang, aka “Sushi John,” once convicted of operating as a secret agent for the Chinese government, is now back in federal custody—and may be shipped out of the country for good.
Zhang, 61, who ran Ya Ya Noodles in Montgomery Township, was sentenced in 2024 to three years’ probation after pleading guilty to acting as an unregistered foreign agent. He admitted meeting with Chinese intelligence officials in the Bahamas, handing off $35,000 to a contact in New Jersey, and twice hosting a Chinese government handler at his home in Princeton.
Though spared prison time, ICE wasn’t finished with him. Agents arrested Zhang on March 24 in Newark, citing violations of his lawful admission into the U.S. “Any illegal alien conducting activities related to espionage or sabotage is subject to deportation,” ICE’s John Tsoukaris declared.
Zhang now waits at the Elizabeth Detention Center as Trump-era deportation machinery kicks back into high gear, backed by renewed detention authority and mass removal orders targeting national security threats. Yet remarkably, his local community has rallied behind him. “He’s doing good, given the circumstances,” said a restaurant worker. “The whole town’s been really supportive.”
But national winds are shifting. The Supreme Court just re-opened questions about deportation law, while judges in other high-profile cases—like pro-Palestine student Mahmoud Khalil—are already authorizing removals.
Espionage won’t be forgiven a second time, even if it comes with miso soup and wasabi on the side.
