Southeast Asian refugees with criminal records face growing threat of deportation

WASHINGTON — Federal authorities have significantly ramped up the deportation of Southeast Asian immigrants with criminal records, sparking widespread alarm within Hmong, Lao, and Vietnamese communities across the United States.

The surge in enforcement follows the start of the Trump administration's second term, marked by a sharp increase in repatriation flights. One flight in May transported 93 Vietnamese and 65 Lao nationals back to their respective countries.

The Lao Embassy confirmed it has issued travel documents to 145 people since January. The figure represents a tenfold increase compared to previous years.

Among those removed is Wa Kong Lor, a Hmong refugee deported to Laos despite being born in a Thai refugee camp. Lor had never set foot in Laos prior to his deportation.

State lawmakers and activists are now mobilizing to counter the federal crackdown. In Minnesota, State Rep. Kaohly Vang Her is pushing for a pardon process to expunge criminal records, a strategy recently implemented in New York to help residents avoid deportation.

Advocates argue the current policy is tearing families apart and inflicting new trauma on refugee communities that have long been established in the U.S.

The second Trump administration’s aggressive push to deport Southeast Asian refugees with criminal records has ignited a slow-burning humanitarian crisis, signaling a sharp departure from previous enforcement norms. While the legal architecture for these removals is not new, the current White House is weaponizing the 1996 Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA) with unprecedented rigor.

By significantly expanding the category of deportable "aggravated felonies" and exerting fresh diplomatic pressure on nations like Vietnam and Laos to accept returnees, the administration has turned long-dormant removal orders into active enforcement priorities. Our analysis indicates this is not a collection of isolated incidents, but a systemic policy shift aimed at a specific demographic: the post-1975 refugee generation.

Many of those now facing deportation arrived in the United States as children, fleeing conflict only to settle in impoverished areas with minimal support. Their criminal records often stem from offenses committed decades ago—products of poverty and the lingering trauma of war. In the intervening years, these individuals have served their sentences, rehabilitated, and spent decades as tax-paying residents with deep-rooted family ties.

For advocacy groups and policy analysts, the sudden acceleration of these removals represents a breach of historical commitment. Beyond the immediate legal implications, the policy is fracturing family structures and creating a lasting socio-economic burden for immigrant communities. Most critically, it effectively exiles long-term residents to countries with which they have no contemporary connection, transforming a legal mandate into a profound humanitarian challenge.

Within the Vietnamese-American community, these policies have sparked a wave of fear that reaches into every corner of Little Saigon. This crackdown strikes at the heart of the 1.5 generation—those who arrived as child refugees and may have struggled while coming of age in a new land. For families who have spent decades building a life here, the threat of a father or a primary provider being suddenly deported to Vietnam over a long-resolved mistake is an existential crisis.

This trauma doesn't just cause family separation; it creates massive economic and psychological instability, threatening the stability of family-run phở restaurants and the nail salon industry that so many in our community depend on. While advocacy groups are working overtime to provide legal counsel and lobby for protections, a heavy cloud of anxiety remains over Lawful Permanent Residents and those navigating the complexities of F2B or H-1B status. For many who have called the U.S. home for forty years, the fear that a sudden deportation order could shatter their lives is a constant, looming reality.