Minnesota lawmakers ask state officials to intervene as Hmong Minnesotans face deportation to Laos

A Minnesota lawmaker is asking Gov. Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison to grant more pardons to potentially protect some Southeast Asians facing deportation after five Hmong men under federal detention were flown from Minnesota to Louisiana last week.

Rep. Kaohly Vang Her, DFL-St. Paul, said at a rally last Sunday that she had spoken to Walz and Ellison and they said they would consider her request. They also warned, however, that there was a backlog of requests for pardons, she said.

“It’s been really challenging. … There has been roadblock after roadblock, and I am to a point now where I’m like ‘This is it,’” Her said, referring to the legal system. “It’s on all of us. This is the time to stand up for each other.”

Walz could not be immediately reached for comment. Ellison’s office said he was unavailable to comment.

Her was among about 100 people who rallied at the East Side Freedom Library in St. Paul to protest the deportation of Southeast Asian Minnesotans, particularly many Hmong men who were arrested this year under President Donald Trump’s immigration policies.

State Rep. Liz Lee, DFL-St. Paul, encouraged people to unite and organize more events like the rally.

“I feel like we are maybe at a dead end,” Lee said, referring to the immigration system. “The most important thing we have is our people power, because change will not happen without people being courageous, like all of you.”

The arrest and deportation of Hmong residents has made headlines beyond Minnesota. A Hmong woman from Wisconsin, Ma Yang, was deported in March, making waves in Hmong communities across the country. Fifteen Hmong and Lao men detained in Michigan in July were deported to Laos last week, according to the Detroit News. Several elected officials submitted letters to Detroit’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office calling for their immediate release.

In June, at least 15 Hmong Minnesotans with criminal convictions were arrested by federal immigration officers for deportation. Some of them had serious convictions from their teens for sexually abusing minors.

“We cannot stay silent when our communities are being torn apart and our neighbors are being kidnapped — that’s what they want,” Chum said. “Minnesota is home to one of the largest populations of Southeast Asian refugees. We must stand up and fight back.”

Most of the Hmong deportees were born in refugee camps before immigrating to the United States as children. Their families fled the “Secret War” in Laos, a CIA-backed military operation during the Vietnam War to fight the spread of communism.

Some speakers at the rally voiced concerns about mothers and fathers being separated from their children.

One of the five Minnesotans detained in Louisiana, Thong Lao, said he’s concerned about his health and being separated from his family. Lao spoke with Sahan Journal on Aug. 8 while he was in custody at the Freeborn County jail, which contracts with the federal government to house ICE detainees.

“I’m so worried about that,” Lao told Sahan Journal. “I’m just so sad that I cannot be there to help out my kids.”

Organizations such as MN8 and Collective Freedom are working to support new deportees in Laos. Collective Freedom members in Laos are planning to drop off care packages to deportees in the country, said Thao Ha, the organization’s founder.

“They’re in this new facility now,” Ha said, referring to how deportees are housed in Laos when they first arrive. “They’re still not free.”

Three women from California, Florida and Texas whose husbands and relatives were deported to Southeast Asia started another organization, Returning Laos Deportees, earlier this year. Texas resident Ally Chan, one of the founders, said Laos rarely accepted U.S. deportees in the past but in recent months, many deportees are arriving there.

“It’s very hard for us to lay some type of protocols with no help, no funding in Laos,” Chan said.

Transforming Generations, a local nonprofit serving Southeast Asians facing gender-based violence, hosted a workshop last Wednesday on how families can prepare for potential deportation.

“It’s not a matter of if, it’s when,” said Xay Yang, queer justice director at Transforming Generations. “We want to get resources out there to the families from providers who are working with impacted people.”

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