WASHINGTON — A Christian pastor from California has been freed from China after nearly 20 years behind bars and is back home in the U.S., the State Department said Monday.

David Lin, 68, was detained after he entered China in 2006, later convicted of contract fraud and sentenced to life in prison, according to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom and advocacy groups.

“We welcome David Lin’s release from prison in the People’s Republic of China. He has returned to the United States and now gets to see his family for the first time in nearly 20 years,” the State Department said.

Family’s Joyful Reaction to Release

“Praise God! We got the call late last night!!! Dad is free and over Alaska now,” the pastor’s daughter, Alice Lin, texted Bob Fu, a long-time supporter on Sunday before she was to unite with her father, according to the screenshot Fu shared with the AP.

“God did it!!!” the daughter texted.

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Ongoing Efforts for Release of Detained Americans

The administration has been working on Lin’s case and the others for years and have raised them at every meeting with senior Chinese officials, including Blinken’s recent meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Laos.