What Southeast Asians in the U.S. need to know about Trump’s deportations (2025)

A Wisconsin Hmong woman’s recent deportation to Laos has caused a ripple effect in Minnesota’s Southeast Asian communities as President Donald Trump ramps up arrests and pressures other countries to accept deportees.

Local immigration attorneys say things have shifted under Trump, including for Lao and Hmong Minnesotans who previously thought there was little risk of being deported.

“What the Trump administration is clearly doing is putting a lot of pressure on these countries,” said Linus Chan, an immigration attorney and director of the Detainee Rights Clinic at the University of Minnesota Law School.

In his first term, Trump threatened sanctions and other actions against countries including Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia, that have historically accepted few deportees. He is repeating some of that playbook now.

Milwaukee area resident Ma Yang, was deported to Laos in early March. Yang was born in Thailand and immigrated to the United States as a baby. She was deported after serving 2½ years in prison for marijuana trafficking and is now living in Laos, unable to visit her husband and five children in the U.S.

Minnesota has large populations from several Southeast Asian countries affected by Trump’s deportation efforts including more than 100,000 Hmong and 36,000 Vietnamese residents.

Here’s how immigration policy changes affect Minnesota’s Southeast Asian communities:

Why are most Southeast Asian Americans deported?

The majority of Southeast Asian deportees were repatriated because they were convicted of crimes listed as removable offenses in immigration law. These include serious crimes, such as murder, rape, drug trafficking and financial fraud. They can also include lower-level crimes such as theft, domestic violence and driving under the influence.

Under immigration law, a sentence of at least a year for a serious crime is considered grounds for deportation, even if those charged did not serve the full year, according to Justica, a public legal research platform.

Less serious crimes can also lead to deportation if committed during a foreign national’s first five years after being admitted to the U.S., or if the person commits multiple lower-level crimes.

“Any two of those [less serious crimes] at any time after someone has a green card makes the individual removable,” said Minneapolis immigration attorney Mai Neng Moua.

Residents who are not U.S. citizens and who are charged with a felony should talk to an immigration attorney about their legal status, she added.

Which Southeast Asian countries have a repatriation agreement with the United States, and how do they work?

Some Southeast Asian countries have a repatriation agreement with the United States, which means that on paper they accept the return of those born in the country. Vietnam and Cambodia have repatriation agreements with the United States; Laos does not.

Any person who is not a U.S. citizen can be deported, but some are more at risk than others, according to the Immigrant Defense Project.

Countries do not need a repatriation agreement to make informal arrangements to accept deportees from the United States. A repatriation agreement is an official deal between the country and the United States that outlines the conditions of accepting deportees.

Vietnam signed a repatriation agreement in 2008 to accept deportees who arrived in the United States in or after 1995, the year the countries re-established diplomatic ties.

In 2017, the first Trump administration began pressuring Vietnam to take back some people who arrived before 1995. In 2020, the U.S. and Vietnam signed a memorandum of agreement to include some members of this group.

Between September 2021 and September 2023, four immigrants who came to the U.S. before 1995 were deported to Vietnam, according to Asian Americans Advancing Justice.

In late February, after Trump threatened trade tariffs and visa sanctions, Vietnam agreed to speed up issuance of travel documents for about 30 Vietnamese nationals in U.S. custody and to respond more promptly to new requests.

Vietnam has historically denied travel documents or “dragged out the process,” preventing many deportations, immigration attorney Tin Thanh Nguyen told Reuters.

Moua said the U.S. has also faced similar barriers sending deportees to Laos and Cambodia. That is why many Southeast Asians with a final removal order are still in the United States, she added.

Fifty-eight people were deported from the United States to Vietnam between October 2023 and last September, according to a 2024 U.S. Customs and Immigration enforcement report. As of November 2024, 8,675 people considered Vietnamese citizens in the United States have a final removal order.

Cambodia signed a repatriation agreement in 2002 to accept deportees on a case-by-case basis. During Trump’s first term, he imposed visa sanctions on top-ranked Cambodian officials when the country refused to take back some deportees who were convicted of crimes and ordered deported.

The United States deported 20 people to Cambodia between October 2023 and September 2024.

A case similar to Yang’s happened in 2016, when eight Cambodian Minnesotans were detained by ICE and faced deportation. Families and friends of the eight men launched a statewide campaign that caught national media attention. They formed a group called MN8, a Southeast Asian immigrant-led advocacy and anti-deportation organization.

As of November 2024, 1,747 Cambodian citizens in the United States have final removal orders.

Many Southeast Asian immigrants in the United States, including Hmong immigrants, were born in refugee camps in Thailand, but the country doesn’t consider them Thai citizens and typically refuses orders to repatriate them, Moua said. About 600 Thai citizens in the United States have final removal orders.

Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, has accepted a low number of deportees in the past few years, including just one from October 2023 to September 2024, according to ICE.

Currently, many asylum-seekers from Myanmar are covered by temporary protected status (TPS), due to ongoing armed conflict and ethnic violence there. Those factors will also make the country unlikely to accept most deportees, local immigration law experts said.

About 600 citizens of Myanmar have final removal orders in the United States.

What is the situation with Laos?

Laos does not have a repatriation agreement, and has typically refused deportees. No one was deported to Laos between October 2023 and last September, according to a 2024 ICE report.

In addition to ethnic Lao, many Hmong and other minority ethnic groups are considered Lao nationals.

Trump issued visa sanctions against Laos and Myanmar during his first term for not cooperating with deportations. In response, the countries agreed to cooperate. In the first few months of Trump’s second administration, similar threats have not been reported.

However, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia are part of a list of countries facing a potential travel ban from the Trump administration, which could be a new way to pressure them to accept deportees, local legal experts say.

What happens to people who were born in a refugee camp?

Many Southeast Asian families immigrated to the United States as refugees. Some were born in refugee camps and immigrated as children. These families often go through years of strict vetting before resettlement in the United States.

People born in refugee camps are not given automatic citizenship of that country, Moua said.

The Hmong American Women’s Association, a Milwaukee-based Southeast Asian advocacy organization, is in contact with Yang’s family and has been supporting them. Executive Director Tammie Xiong said Yang’s case has caught the attention of many Southeast Asian families and organizations across the nation.

“All of a sudden the possibility of being separated from your family and being deported to Southeast Asia now has become a real reality,” she said. “When people are looking at Ma’s case, they’re really thinking about their own safety. Some of them are also questioning, ‘What is our relationship with the United States, right?’”

Yang was born in a Thailand refugee camp after her parents fled from Laos due to the Secret War within the Vietnam War. The CIA-backed military trained and recruited Hmong people to fight against communists, according to Xiong.

It’s possible that Yang was sent to Laos because her parents are from there, Moua said.

Moua said that in immigration court, she argues that Hmong clients born in a refugee camp are “stateless,” meaning they are not recognized as citizens of any Southeast Asian country. But when a judge orders her Hmong clients to be deported, she said, they are sent to Laos.

However, it’s uncommon to see Hmong people deported, Moua said. ICE’s 2024 deportation data is not broken down by ethnic group, so there’s no way to track the number of Hmong deportees.

Chan emphasized that a person’s country of birth or citizenship does not automatically determine where they’ll be deported. When someone is given a final removal order that initiates deportation, ICE has to try and find a country that will issue travel documents and accept them. The destination depends on whichever country agrees to it, he said.

Countries have refused many times to accept deportees who have citizenship there, he said.

“Whether or not a country takes you, is only whether they agree to take you,” Chan said. “Citizenship does not control it.”

Are there any Southeast Asian Minnesotans facing deportation?

Some Minnesotans are facing deportation to Southeast Asian countries, according to Chan and Moua, but they could not provide exact numbers.

How does citizenship status impact someone’s eligibility for deportation?

When refugees first arrive in the United States, they are given a year of valid legal status that generally protects against deportation, Moua said. Once they have been in the U.S. for a year, they are expected to apply for a green card and gain legal permanent residency status. That status grants permission to work and live in the United States indefinitely as long as they maintain their green card.

Typically, five years after receiving their green card, the final step would be to apply for U.S. citizenship, which protects against deportation.

“If you’re only a permanent resident, immigration law can still impact you,” Moua said.

What is the process for deporting someone?

ICE agents can seek to arrest those with a detainer in their homes, workplaces or in public spaces. One of the most common ways Southeast Asian residents are put into removal proceedings is if they encounter ICE agents while in jail, Moua said. ICE monitors jails and can ask individuals for proof of citizenship or can review government databases to check on their immigration status.

When ICE agents verify someone is not a U.S. citizen, they issue a charging document to begin removal proceedings.

The person appears at immigration court in front of a judge, who decides whether or not they can be deported. People can argue against deportation, Moua said, adding that some have told judges deportation puts their lives at risk.

If a judge decides to issue a removal order to approve deportation, legal permanent residency status is revoked. The person is transferred to a detention facility and ICE has 90 days to find a country that will accept them. ICE will first check the country of origin or citizenship. But if the country refuses to accept the person, then ICE checks for countries that will issue a travel document to accept them, Chan said.

If no country will issue travel documents, ICE can extend detention for another 90 days or choose to release them if they believe the person is not a danger to society.

An ICE order of removal stays active even when someone is released from custody because no country will accept them, according to Chan. Most people in that situation often live crime-free for decades, but can still face deportation if ICE eventually finds a country that will accept them, Chan said.

How have things changed under Trump’s presidency?

Some countries are bowing to Trump’s threats, leading to hundreds of deportees being sent to countries where they have no ties.

“The process is literally ICE just going down a list and looking for countries that will take them,” Chan said. “And what has changed, is now ICE is not taking no for an answer.”

El Salvador agreed in February to accept foreign nationals, and earlier this month accepted more than 200 alleged Venezuelan gang members who are now housed at a maximum-security prison. A federal judge tried to stop flights with the migrants, but the administration moved ahead with the deportation.

Hundreds of deportees from various countries were held in Panama City in February under pressure from the Trump administration, according to the New York Times.

Yang, the Hmong woman who was deported to Laos, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel she believed she wouldn’t be deported since Laos historically hasn’t accepted deportees, so she signed a removal order in exchange for release from a Minnesota ICE detention facility where she was being held.

Yang’s assessment was accurate in years past, said Moua and Chan, but that is starting to shift because of Trump.

“The past few months should show people that that is not true,” Chan said of the belief that people can only be deported to countries where they were born.

What countries outside of Southeast Asia have repatriation agreements with the United States?

Most countries, including China, Russia and many African countries don’t have a formal agreement, but deportation arrangements are often made on a case-by-case basis depending on a country’s relationship with the United States.

Some of the largest immigrant populations in Minnesota are from countries such as Mexico, Somalia and India.

The U.S. and Mexico have several local repatriation agreements at various border locations. Both countries have a longstanding relationship to facilitate the return of Mexican nationals. Over 252,000 Mexican citizens in the United States have final removal orders as of November 2024.

Recently, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said in a press briefing that she is open to the possibility of accepting non-Mexican deportees from the United States.

Somalia is one of 17 countries covered by temporary protected status because of a civil war that started in 1991. The country is also designed unsafe for U.S. travelers, according to the U.S. Embassy of Somalia. Despite this, Trump pressured Somalia to accept deportees during his first term.

Over 4,000 Somali citizens in the United States have final removal orders as of November 2024.

According to The Guardian, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi confirmed plans last January to work with Trump’s administration on deporting thousands of undocumented Indian immigrants from the United States. Over 17,900 Indian citizens in the United States have final removal orders as of November 2024.

India received one of the first flights carrying 104 deported migrants by the Trump administration this year.

Staff data reporter and AI specialist Cynthia Tu contributed to this report.