Laotian Refugee Faces Deportation After Decades in the U.S.

Background of Laotian Resettlement

• 🇱🇦 Following the Vietnam War, the U.S. bombed Laos relentlessly, leading to thousands of Laotian families being resettled in the U.S. as refugees.
• ⚖️ For decades, Laotians with criminal convictions were allowed to remain in the U.S. due to the absence of a repatriation agreement with Laos.

Alan Phetsadakone's Experience

• 👶 Alan Phetsadakone arrived in the U.S. as a toddler and has lived there for decades.
• 🚨 He was detained for nearly two months during an annual immigration appointment, despite having a deportation order from 1998 for bank fraud convictions when he was 18.
• 🏠 Conditions in the detention facility were described as frustrating, with 70-80 detainees in an open unit, 24-hour light, and limited outdoor access.

Legal and Personal Uncertainty

• ❓ Phetsadakone's lawyers are working to vacate his old case, but he faces uncertainty about when he might be deported.
• 👨‍👩‍👧 His wife and children are U.S. citizens, and the family never prepared for the possibility of deportation after living in the U.S. for so long.
• 🌍 He expresses deep uncertainty about starting a new life in Laos, a country he doesn't know and where he has no family.

Community Support and Call for Action

• ❤️ Phetsadakone has received tremendous support from people who have heard his story, including financial assistance via GoFundMe.
• 🙏 He states that what he needs now is support and the fight to prevail against what he calls "immigration madness."
• 🏛️ The Department of Homeland Security stated Phetsadakone has four convictions for larceny and fraud, calling him a "criminal" released due to an "activist judge."