Department of Corrections director Jerry Enomoto urged the judge to let Zheng remain in the United States, asserting that Zheng had significantly reformed himself while in prison and that society would benefit if he were released to receive a fresh start. His lawyer also argued that Zheng, as a Christian, might face persecution if returned to China. However, in July 2006, the immigration judge ordered his deportation. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement requested the Chinese embassy to the U.S. provide a travel document to Zheng so that he could be deported; the embassy responded that the Chinese government initially could find no record of Zheng and needed more time to perform research. Under United States immigration law as applied since the Supreme Court cases Zadvydas v. Davis (2001) and Clark v. Martinez (2005), a person awaiting deportation may not be held indefinitely, even if deportation cannot be effected due to refusal of the country of origin to receive the person, unless the person falls into a narrow category of those who present a danger to the public due to mental illness or another reason. Other persons may be released from custody after being held for 90 days. After an initial refusal to release Zheng from custody, the Department of Homeland Security set Zheng free on February 27, 2007. However, he still faced the possibility that he could be deported back to China. In December 2010, Zheng appealed his deportation order to the Ninth Circuit Court. Zheng's lawyer Zachary Nightingale contended that the deportation review process had been handled incorrectly. Supporters also circulated a petition calling on lame duck California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to grant Zheng a pardon before the end of his gubernatorial term in January 2011; by the end of 2010, the petition had garnered nearly a thousand signatures and was reported in China's People's Daily. On May 6, 2011, judges Mary M. Schroeder, Sidney R. Thomas, and Ronald M. Gould of the Ninth Circuit Court ruled that the case be returned to the Board of Immigration Appeals for a new hearing. Schroeder, writing the unanimous opinion, stated that the board had erred in failing to consider Zheng's value to the community and the opinions of community members when ruling on deportation. Zheng was quoted as saying that the news would make a wonderful Mother's Day present for his mother. His mother remains in San Francisco, while his elder