He was pardoned by the state on Tuesday, picked up by ICE on Wednesday

Fong Khang hoped his legal troubles were over when the Minnesota Board of Pardons unanimously agreed on Jan. 20 to set aside eight criminal convictions that were threatening his ability to remain in the United States.

His wife burst into tears at the news, and a grateful Khang thanked the board, according to a videotape of the hearing. He said he was “deeply ashamed” of a string of thefts he committed nearly 20 years ago, crimes that had him in and out of jail until 2010.

Less than 24 hours later, federal agents stopped Khang on his way to work at one of two auto repair shops he owns in the Twin Cities area and took him into custody.

Khang, 46, is now sitting in a detention cell in Texas, more than 1,000 miles away from his wife and four daughters. He is facing deportation to his native Laos, which he fled with his mother and two siblings at the age of 1. In 1983, he became a legal permanent resident, a status that carries with it the risk of deportation for certain crimes.

Like hundreds of other detainees, Khang has challenged his detention in federal court by filing a lawsuit that accuses the government of locking him up without cause, claiming his recent pardon eliminates “any legal basis for removal.”

So far, federal officials say they have detained about 3,000 people in Minnesota during Operation Metro Surge, which began last month as part of President Donald Trump’s campaign to deport millions of undocumented immigrants he believes pose a threat to the U.S.

Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty, one of four law enforcement officials who supported Khang’s pardon, praised the immigrant for becoming a productive member of the community.

“He set a tremendous example for turning one’s life around after an interaction with the justice system,” Moriarty said in a statement. “His deportation achieves nothing beyond destabilizing his family and harming his community.”

Khang’s pardon also was supported by his sister-in-law, state Sen. Susan Pha, DFL-Brooklyn Park, who said the federal government’s decision to detain him is “wrong.”

“He is a great father. He is a great person,” Pha said Friday. “He made mistakes when he was much younger. And he has turned his life around.”

Federal officials have not yet responded to Khang’s lawsuit, and officials with the Department of Homeland Security did not respond to questions about Khang’s case.

In his application to the pardon board, Khang described a challenging childhood. He was raised by a single mother and grew up in Section 8 housing, where his family lived on welfare and food stamps.

Khang said his problems worsened when he started hanging out with the “wrong people” in 2006.

“I was using drugs and lost everything I had – my family, friends, job, money and car,” he said in his application. “I spiraled into being homeless.”

Khang said he began stealing to get by. He received the first of four felony convictions in 2006, when he was caught stealing a computer and other valuables from an unoccupied Fridley home. He pleaded guilty to second-degree burglary, was sentenced to 10 years of probation and spent 82 days in jail. He was 26 at the time.

“I didn’t learn from my first offense,” Khang told the pardon board.

Khang was convicted on theft charges three times in 2007 after he was caught stealing a Lexus, a Chevrolet pick-up truck and a computer charger from a convenience store. His last felony arrest took place in 2010, when he was caught trying to sell a $2,900 set of stolen golf clubs online.

Nobody was physically injured or threatened with violence in any of the crimes, according to a review of the police reports. Khang received probation for each of his eight offenses and spent a total of 568 days in jail or the workhouse.

In her letter to the pardon board, Moriarty noted that Khang has a “somewhat extensive criminal history,” but she noted “he has remained free of criminal convictions since 2010 ... Khang has removed the people from his life that were influencing his criminal behavior.”

In 2016, Khang and his wife opened their first auto repair shop, Budget Auto Repair, in New Brighton. A second shop, JWP Automotive, opened in St. Paul in 2020. The two businesses employ 11 people and typically handle 250 to 300 customers each month, according to Khang’s pardon board application.

Khang and his wife have four daughters, ranging in age from 9 to 23. Their oldest daughter graduated from the University of Minnesota last year, the first in the family to obtain a bachelor’s degree, Khang’s wife, Paige Fang, told the pardon board.

“Fong is the glue that holds our family together,“ Fang told the board. ”Without him we would be lost.”

In 2008, the courts approved his removal, but because Laos was not accepting deportees at that time, Khang was never forced to leave the U.S. He was released and has since been under an order of supervision, which requires him to report annually to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, court records show.

That order of supervision has never been revoked, said attorney Mai Moua, who represents Khang and is fighting to get him returned to Minnesota.

Though a federal judge barred the government from moving Khang out of the state on Jan. 21, the day he was detained, Moua said Khang was on a plane to Texas later that night.

“I do have word from the government that they should be moving my client back to Minnesota,” Moua said Friday. But, she added, “they can still detain him because he has an order of removal.”

Moua said she was surprised Khang was taken into custody.

Earlier this week, Khang told the pardon board he wants to see his girls grow up.