Latest news with #MaYang
Yahoo
15-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
We want to hear from you: Milwaukee woman was deported to Laos. Was that right?
The nation's debate about immigration struck a chord in an unlikely place: A 37-year-old Hmong American woman from Milwaukee who was deported to Laos, despite never living in that country or speaking the language. The Journal Sentinel on Friday first reported the story of Ma Yang, 37, a nail technician and mother of five who has lived in Wisconsin since she was a baby. She said she was detained at a check-in appointment with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in mid-February and was flown last week to Laos. Opinion: Worst atrocities of the past began with mass deportations. Is history repeating? According to the story, Yang was born in Bangkok, Thailand, the daughter of Hmong refugees after the Vietnam War. She was 8 months old when her family resettled in Milwaukee. She was a legal permanent U.S. resident starting at age 7, but that status was revoked when she pleaded guilty to taking part in a marijuana trafficking operation in 2022. Was it right to deport Ma Yang? We want to hear from you. Share your thoughts with us and we'll post them in this story as they roll in. Jim Fitzhenry is the Ideas Lab Editor/Director of Community Engagement for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Reach him at jfitzhen@ or 920-993-7154. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: ICE deports Milwaukee woman. Share your perspective. | Opinion
Yahoo
14-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
In Milwaukee since she was an infant, a 37-year-old Hmong American woman has been deported to Laos. What to know.
The story of a Milwaukee-area Hmong American woman who was deported to Laos, a country she has never visited, has resonated with readers. Ma Yang, 37, a nail technician and mother of five who has lived in Wisconsin since she was a baby, was detained at a check-in appointment with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in mid-February and was flown last week to Laos, she said. She says she is now stranded in a rooming house in the capital of Vientiane, surrounded by military guards, with little idea of what to do next. Yang's story reflects the Trump administration's push to send deportees to countries that do not typically accept them. Yang believes she is one of the first Hmong Americans to be deported to Laos in recent years, as the U.S. had designated Laos an "uncooperative" country that did not receive its deportees. Here's what to know about Yang's immigration status and deportation. Yang was born in Bangkok, Thailand, the daughter of Hmong refugees after the Vietnam War. She was 8 months old when her family resettled in Milwaukee. She was a legal permanent U.S. resident starting at age 7, but that status was revoked when she pleaded guilty to taking part in a marijuana trafficking operation in 2022. Yang, 37, worked as a nail technician and a receptionist at nail salons in the Milwaukee area. Her children range in age from 6 to 22, and she has a 7-month-old granddaughter. She and her longtime partner, Michael Bub, recently bought a house in South Milwaukee. Yang was among 26 people indicted in a sweeping federal case in 2020. It alleged Yang helped count and package cash that was mailed to marijuana suppliers in California. She took a plea deal and served 2 ½ years in prison. She said her attorney incorrectly told her the plea deal would not affect her immigration status. Her green card was revoked. At the end of her sentence, Yang was transferred to an ICE detention facility. There, at the advice of another attorney, she agreed to a document stating that a deportation order would be entered against her in exchange for being released. Despite agreeing to be deported, she and her attorney believed it wouldn't happen, since only a small handful of people, if any, are deported to Laos each year, and Laos typically has refused to accept U.S. deportees. No deportees were sent to Laos in the last fiscal year. And nearly 5,000 citizens of Laos with final deportation orders remained in the U.S. as of November, according to an ICE report. At a February check-in, ICE officers detained Yang, then sent her to a jail in Indiana, and then put her on a series of flights to Laos, where she arrived March 6. Yang said she was questioned by military authorities in Laos, then sent to a rooming house in Vientiane, where guards did not allow her to leave or contact anyone for five days. A few days ago, she was taken to buy a cellphone and withdraw cash. The military official in charge of her situation then said she could leave if she wanted. But she is scared to venture out. She has no friends or family there, does not speak the Lao language and the officials took all her documentation, she said. Yang has no insulin for her diabetes and dwindling supplies of high blood pressure medication, she said. Meanwhile, her partner, Bub, is disabled and struggling to care for their children as a single dad. Sophie Carson is a general assignment reporter who reports on religion and faith, immigrants and refugees and more. Contact her at scarson@ or 920-323-5758. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Why was a Hmong American woman from Milwaukee deported to Laos?
Yahoo
14-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Milwaukee-area woman deported to Laos though she's never been there, doesn't speak the language
A Hmong American woman who has lived in the Milwaukee area since she was 8 months old was deported last week to Laos, a country she has never visited, and says she is stranded in a rooming house surrounded by military guards. Ma Yang, 37, a mother of five, said she does not speak the Lao language, has no family or friends in the country and that the military is holding all her documents. She was born in Thailand, the daughter of Hmong refugees after the Vietnam War, and she was a legal permanent U.S. resident until she pleaded guilty to taking part in a marijuana trafficking operation. "The United States sent me back to die," she said. "I don't even know where to go. I don't even know what to do." As President Donald Trump pushes the mass deportation of immigrants, Yang believes she is one of the first Hmong Americans to be deported to Laos in recent years. As of November, the U.S. considered Laos an "uncooperative" country that accepted few, if any, deportees. Zero people were deported to Laos in the last fiscal year, according to federal data. Once she arrived in the Laotian capital of Vientiane on March 6, she said she was questioned by military authorities then sent to a rooming house, where guards did not allow her to leave or contact anyone for five days. She paced in circles around the compound and ate food the guards gave her. A few days ago, she was taken to buy a cellphone and withdraw cash. She could finally reach out to her partner of 16 years, Michael Bub of South Milwaukee, a U.S. citizen. The military official in charge of her situation — she does not know his rank or title — then said she could leave if she wanted. But she is scared to venture out. "How do I rent, or buy, or anything, with no papers?" Yang said. "I'm a nobody right now." Yang has no insulin for her diabetes and dwindling supplies of high blood pressure medication, she said. She is the only deportee in the house, she said. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, known as ICE, did not provide comment Thursday on Yang's case. More: They came to the U.S. legally with American sponsors. Trump put their future in jeopardy. A longtime Milwaukee resident, Yang worked as a nail technician and a receptionist at nail salons before the COVID-19 pandemic. She was earning a living for her children, who range in age from 6 to 22. Her partner, Bub, is disabled: he has had two brain surgeries, is partially paralyzed and suffers from memory loss. During the pandemic, the family moved into a house that prosecutors say was part of a marijuana trafficking operation. Yang was among 26 people indicted in a sweeping federal case in 2020. It alleged Yang helped count and package cash that was mailed to marijuana suppliers in California. Prosecutors found bags of cash taped between pages of magazines, according to a complaint. She took a plea deal and served 2 1/2 years in prison. She said her attorney incorrectly told her the plea deal would not affect her immigration status as a green card holder. But her legal permanent residency was revoked. Yang would've traded a shorter prison sentence for a longer one if she could have kept her green card, she said. She needs to be home with her kids. "I made a mistake, and I know that it was wrong," Yang said. "But I served the time for it already." At the end of her sentence, Yang was transferred to an ICE detention facility in Minnesota. There, at the advice of another attorney, she signed a document agreeing that a deportation order would be entered against her in exchange for being released from detention. Despite agreeing to be deported, she and her attorney believed it wouldn't happen, since only a small handful of people are deported to Laos each year, if any, and Laos typically has refused to accept U.S. deportees. Nearly 5,000 citizens of Laos with final deportation orders remained in the U.S. as of November, according to an ICE report. Yang also expected the second attorney to reopen her criminal case and get the conviction thrown out on the grounds she had poor legal representation the first time. If it were thrown out, she reasoned, the deportation order would become irrelevant. But the new attorney did not reopen her case, she said. "I just keep getting screwed in this system," Yang said. More: Inches from resettling, an Afghan refugee family looks to Wisconsin senator for help After being released from detention, Yang and Bub bought a house in South Milwaukee, and she was attending regular check-ins with ICE. In mid-February, she got a call from ICE asking her to go to their downtown Milwaukee office for a check-in. It was nine months before her scheduled date, but she went. There, officers detained her, then sent her to a jail in Brazil, Indiana. Someone there told her she'd likely sit in the jail for a few months, then get released, since Laos wouldn't take her back. But after two weeks in Indiana, she was sent to a holding facility in Chicago, and then to the airport. She really was being deported, she realized. Yang says an officer forced her to provide her fingerprints on a document stating she would not return to the U.S. And then she was off on commercial flights: Chicago to Atlanta to South Korea to Laos. On its website, ICE said it asks foreign governments to confirm the citizenship of deportees, issue travel documents and accept them from commercial flights. It appears that ICE has been deporting citizens of countries that will not accept them. Over 100 people from such countries were being held earlier this month in a remote jungle camp after being flown to Panama, the New York Times reported. Yang's had trouble getting answers to questions from the Laos military officials about her living situation and what she's supposed to do next. Bub and Yang's children have taken her deportation hard, they said. Bub hasn't been sleeping and has struggled to care for the children as a single dad. Beyond her own situation, Yang sees the return of Hmong refugees to Laos as a betrayal by the U.S. Recruited by the CIA, Hmong soldiers helped the American military in the Vietnam War, then faced persecution and violence for their role. "How do you send us back when we fought for you guys?" Yang said. "How is this OK?" Yang's mother, who had two strokes and needs daily care, moved in with the family after Yang got out of prison. Her mother called Yang on Wednesday. "I miss you," her mother said. "Nobody takes care of me like you do. What am I supposed to do?" "I don't know. What am I supposed to do?" Yang replied, desperate. "I can't even take care of myself. Everything is unknown." Sophie Carson is a general assignment reporter who reports on religion and faith, immigrants and refugees and more. Contact her at scarson@ or 920-323-5758. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: South Milwaukee woman deported to Laos is stranded with few options
