ST. JOHNS, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – During the Vietnam War, the CIA recruited Hmong fighters in Laos to wage a covert war against communist forces. Led largely by General Vang Pao, Hmong units served as scouts, intelligence operatives, and rescue teams for downed American pilots. When the United States withdrew, Hmong communities were left to face imprisonment, persecution, and widespread killings. Tens of thousands escaped to refugee camps in Thailand, and many were later resettled in the United States – particularly in California and the Midwest.
Today, Michigan is home to more than 6,000 Hmong residents – many of whom believed they were here permanently, protected as wartime allies. But now, decades later, many are being told to leave – along with their children who are now adults.
A pardon that isn’t enough.
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That includes Lue Yang, a St. Johns resident, a 47-year-old father of six, a food bank volunteer, an advocate for Hmong veterans, a Hmong refugee and president of the Hmong Family Association of Lansing. Yang was born in a Thai refugee camp and came to the U.S. in 1979 after his family fled Laos for supporting the U.S. during the Vietnam War.
In 1997, Yang pleaded guilty to a home burglary charge (attempted home invasion, second degree) when he was 19-years-old and served 10 months in jail. His conviction was expunged in 2018 but the federal government doesn’t recognize the expungement and he’s been denied citizenship. In July of this year, ICE detained him along with 15 other Hmong in Michigan and remains in custody – now in Baldwin, Michigan. Even though Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer recently gave Yang a pardon, he still faces the threat of deportation because it doesn’t bind federal immigration authorities.
ICE, for its part, said in July that it had detained “a known gang member who obstructed a murder investigation, multiple child sex abusers, drug traffickers, and other Laotian nationals with criminal histories,” though the agency did not clarify which individuals fell into which category.
Legal team and congressman pushes for intervention.
Michigan Republican Congressman Tom Barrett, who represents the St. Johns area, is pressing the Trump Administration to review Yang’s case, calling it “specific and unique” and urging federal intervention. Michigan State Representative Mai Xiong, Michigan State Senator Stephanie Chang, and many other Michigan legislators are also advocating for Yang’s release and had signed a letter to Governor Whitmer for his pardon.
Yang is a client of attorneys Nancy Xiong and Greg Przybylo from the Behan & Przybylo Law Office. Michigan News Source spoke to Xiong and Przybylo about the situation and were told they have represented five Hmong men, three from Michigan and two from different states, four of which were deported in August.
Even though these men were granted permanent residency by the United States for their role in assisting American forces during the Vietnam War, the Hmong are a stateless ethnic group with no recognized homeland, the attorneys said. These men built their lives in Michigan, raised families, worked steady jobs, and complied with regular check-ins with immigration authorities for years.
Crimes committed decades ago.
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When these men were young, some as teenagers, they were involved in low-level, nonviolent offenses such as second-degree home invasion. Due to language barriers and ineffective legal counsel, they accepted plea deals without being told that doing so would automatically revoke their immigration status.
Many years later, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that defendants must be warned of immigration consequences before pleading guilty (Padilla v. Kentucky, 559 U.S. 356 (2010)) – but Michigan never applied that ruling retroactively. As a result, the original convictions and the resulting deportation orders still stand, even though the legal foundation behind them is now considered unconstitutional.
Deportations moving forward.
According to the attorneys, for nearly two decades, no country would accept the five men, making deportation impossible. But under the Trump administration, Laos is now accepting these removals and deportations are ramping up. Yang received a pardon from Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and currently has a temporary stay while further legal challenges continue. His attorneys are now preparing to take a test case to the Michigan Supreme Court, possibly Yang’s, hoping to overturn the underlying conviction and restore legal resident status.
A community built in Michigan – now at risk of being broken apart.
Many Hmong families in Michigan have been separated as longtime residents face detention and deportation. Over the decades, the Hmong community has become a vital part of the state’s fabric, establishing churches, businesses, farms, youth programs, and veteran support networks. Many serve in public roles as police officers, EMTs, and teachers. Despite their decades of residence, tax contributions, and service to their communities, some are now being ordered to return to countries they fled after assisting the United States during the Vietnam War.
The United States once depended on the Hmong when it mattered most. Now the question is whether this country will honor that history – or allow its allies to be quietly erased, Yang’s American life included.
“We are in a race against time,” says attorney Nancy Xiong.
