IASCO holds students' immigration documents

School officials have refused to comment, but IASCO’s website says it holds its students’ immigration documents while they’re in the United States. That could explain why the male voice in the recording — which police have not confirmed as being McConkey — can be heard telling Shi he's "got your (expletive) passport; you're leaving now." But what's also unclear is whether it's even legal to withhold a student's passport in the United States.The school’s website says that IASCO manages the process that gets students travel visas and TSA security clearance, but that “all immigration-related student documents are safeguarded by IFT for the duration of the student’s stay at the flight school.” It did not say whether passports specifically are part of the deal.

Representatives of the American Civil Liberties Union's Northern California chapter referred questions and comments on this policy to outside immigration experts, who couldn't immediately be reached for comment.

What are international students' rights in the United States?

As for other rights, a Chico attorney who himself was kicked out of flight school when instructors there learned he was not yet a U.S. citizen has some advice for alleged kidnapping victim Shi: Talk to an immigration specialist.

Sergio Garcia's situation was different than Shi's in that IASCO is allowed to train Chinese students. But Garcia says Shi still has rights in the U.S. under the circumstances, despite not being an American citizen.

For one, Garcia said Shi is not deportable until he gets his day in court. Shi can remain in the country to take part in any legal proceedings against IASCO’s general manager and his assistant, Garcia said.

"He does have a right to go to court and confront his alleged kidnappers," Garcia said.

The flight-school students have M-1 visas in order to attend the vocational school, but Garcia said a U visa also is available for crime victims and witnesses who cooperate with law enforcement.

"Even foreign tourists who are injured or harmed have a right to go to court," Garcia said.

https://www.redding.com/story/news/local/2018/06/01/iasco-flight-shool-employees-alleged-student-kidnapping/658005002/

Hoser's attorney Naomi Chung, Esq. says that Hoser was frustrated and aggravated with Shi and that is why she and McConkey used 'strong language'. She was 'set up' with the recording and everything needs to be put in context. And besides, Hoser is a 50-year-old 90-pound Asian female without a gun so how can that be considered kidnapping, Your Honor?

Quote:

Attorney: Chinese flight student had been expelled, kidnap charges disputed

Mike Chapman, Record Searchlight Published 4:35 p.m. PT June 2, 2018 Updated 4:48 p.m. PT June 2, 2018

More information came to light Saturday in the alleged kidnapping of a Chinese student by two top administrators of a Redding flight school.

The attorney for one of the defendants disputed the abduction charge and instead said the two employees were taking the student to the airport for a flight home to China because he flunked his classes and his visa had expired.

"He was expelled from IASCO because he simply could not cut it," San Franciso attorney Naomi Chung said in a statement provided to the Record Searchlight.

Chung represents Kelsi Hoser, the director of administration and secretary at IASCO. Redding police arrested both Hoser, 50, and IASCO Flight School General Manager Jonathan McConkey, 48, at the Redding Airport on May 25 on suspicion of kidnapping aviation student Tianshu "Chris" Shi.

Shi told police he was taken against his will from his Trudie Trail apartment and put in a van by McConkey and Hoser en route to the airport for a flight to China. Shi contacted a relative in his home country during the ordeal, who then alerted police.Jonathan McConkey (Photo: Redding Police Department) Shi's mother, who identified herself only as Mrs. Zhu, declined to immediately respond Saturday to Chung's comments. She flew to the U.S. last week to be with her son.

"At present we are looking for a suitable lawyer to help us," she said via email. "We will have a lawyer send a statement for us later."

There are a number of reasons why the flight school wanted to send Shi home, Chung says in her comments that shed light on the case from the defendants' point of view.

Shi has said he had no idea why he was supposed to leave the U.S. and return home. He did say he was grounded for the past two months and wasn't able to fly or train.

According to Chung, Shi's visa to attend vocational school had expired and he was failing at the flight school. In addition, Chung said:

Shi failed all of his ground school and first simulator tests.
Of his 23 attempted lessons, eight received unsatisfactory grades and 10 were given incompletes.
An inability to communicate with air traffic control was flagged as a major safety concern.

Shi has said in a previous interview with the Record Searchlight that he never had an issue with his flight skills, but thinks he was excused from training because of his English.

“I can’t speak English well in life, but I can speak English well with air traffic control,” he told an R-S reporter.

But Chung said Shi's inability to communicate with air traffic control was a major concern. "No one wants an unsafe pilot if something was to go wrong," she said.

Chung said the flight school worked with Shi to improve his aviation skills and provided one-on-one instruction to help him.

Chung also said employees heard Shi had become suicidal and upset.

"It's our belief that Mr. Shi was terrified to return home after failing school," she said.

As for the audio recording believed to be the voices of McConkey and Hoser that Shi recorded before he was taken from his apartment, Chung said that was part of a setup because Shi provided only about three minutes of the conversation that didn't provide the full story.

"The context is everything in this case but he really doesn't discuss what happened prior to that night before," Chung said.

In a previous interview, Shi said McConkey and Hoser visited him late Thursday night and told him to get packed for a flight home Friday.

Chung said the two flight school employees used strong language in ordering Shi what to do because they were frustrated and aggravated with the situation.

"I think everyone wishes they could be more patient at times," she said.

Chung said McConkey and Hoser had Shi, 21, and a second flight student, 24-year-old Zhang Xun "Max" Yi, in the van on their way to the airport and at one point dropped McConkey off at his home.

She said Hoser is a 50-year-old, 90-pound Chinese-American woman who was driving the two young men by herself in an unlocked van without any weapons.

"She's not kidnapping him (Shi). She's just going to send him back home," Chung said.

https://www.redding.com/story/news/2...ney/666584002/