Minneapolis woman freed to await deportation

Return to Vietnam, at least temporarily, is still likely for Hoa Nguyen, who overstayed a student visa, but she won't go back in handcuffs.

By JENNA ROSS, Star Tribune

Last update: October 23, 2009 - 9:35 PM

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After an abrupt arrest, nine weeks in jail and dozens of letters to family, friends and elected officials, Hoa Nguyen is back in her Minneapolis home with her husband.

Dan Hanson has been fighting the detainment and deportation of his wife, who came to the United States from Vietnam under a student visa 10 years ago. After that visa expired and she missed a court date, she was jailed in Sherburne County. Soon after, a judge denied a motion to reopen her case.

Then, a surprise: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement released Nguyen this week. Although the deportation order still stands, she's home.

"I'm rather jubilant," said Hanson, an Illinois native who met Nguyen while they were undergraduates at Luther College in Iowa. "After so much pain and unknowing, to have her here ... It's definitely the biggest relief I've ever felt."

The couple's lawyer, Michael Davis of Davis & Goldfarb in Minneapolis, said Nguyen's release was "a nice surprise," that spoke to the government's faith that "she's not a flight risk," he said. "It was a good-faith mistake on her part."

Tim Counts, spokesman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, confirmed in a statement that Nguyen was released Wednesday. He said the department could not release other details, but said Nguyen "has been afforded due process in the federal immigration courts."

Because the deportation order still stands, Nguyen will likely go to Vietnam -- but "not in handcuffs," Davis said. "She'll choose the flight and the time. She'll be leaving with dignity, on her own terms."

There, she'll meet with officials at the U.S. Embassy and could be allowed to return once schedules, waivers and petitions are sorted out, Hanson said.

In the meantime, the couple is "reveling in every minute together," he said.

They've eaten at their favorite restaurant in St. Paul, snuggled in a movie theater and are making a long, long list of people to whom they owe thank-you notes.

Jenna Ross • 612-673-7168

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