Aggressive immigration enforcement has intensified nationwide. As of early this month, more than 200,000 people had been arrested by ICE agents, including about 75,000 with no criminal record at all.

Lue Yang doesn’t technically fit into this context. But his case is close.

He was born in a Thai refugee camp after his family fled Laos. The Hmong refugee has lived in Michigan since he was 8 months old. While he is here legally, Yang previously had a 1997 criminal conviction, which was expunged in Michigan, but isn’t recognized by federal immigration law.

That resulted in ICE agents arresting Yang in July at his work. He was in prison until last week when he was released with the help of Michigan Republican Congressman Tom Barrett. 

Why did Congressman Barrett help free Lue Yang? And, what was the process like for getting someone out of ICE detention?

Congressman Barrett joined The Metro to discuss that and more.

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Amid reports that federal immigration officials are accelerating the deportation process of Lue Yang, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has pardoned the Hmong refugee. The governor called him “a devoted family man and respected leader in Michigan’s Hmong community.”

Yang, 47, a father of six from St. Johns, was taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in July. ICE cites a decades-old conviction for attempted second-degree home invasion, a crime committed when he was 19.

Michigan courts have since expunged that record under the state’s Clean Slate law, but federal immigration rules still treat it as grounds for removal.

Since his arrest, Yang has been transferred through multiple ICE facilities, including the federal staging site in Alexandria, Louisiana, which is part of a network used for deportation flights. His case unfolds as the Trump administration has increased removals of Southeast Asian refugees this year.

Refugee to community builder 

During the Vietnam War, Yang’s family, like many Hmong in Laos, worked alongside U.S. troops and CIA operatives, a loyalty that later forced them to flee their homeland and begin again in America. 

Before his family’s journey to the U.S., Yang was born in a Thai refugee camp. He was brought to America as a young child and has no connection to Laos, the country immigration officials are considering for his deportation.

His wife, Ann Vue, told The Metro he has been a pillar for the state’s Hmong residents.

“He has literally brought our Hmong community out and gave us a voice — that we do exist in the state of Michigan.”

Ensnared in the system

Advocates, including Michigan State Sen. Stephanie Chang and immigration attorney Aisa Villarosa of the Asian Law Caucus, say they’ve received reports that Yang’s deportation is proceeding. They believe he was placed on a plane last night with a leg to Laos. 

The Metro has contacted ICE but has not yet received confirmation.

Villarosa says she is encouraged by the governor’s pardon, calling it “a groundbreaking step in the movement to challenge Lue’s detention and deportation, and a message of affirmation to the millions of loved ones and advocates at the front lines of inhumane immigration enforcement policies.”

Still, she says, the effect of Whitmer’s pardon on Yang’s immigration case remains unclear.

Just before Whitmer announced Yang’s pardon, Villarosa joined The Metro’s Robyn Vincent to discuss fighting to keep families like the Yangs together. 

Use the audio player above to listen.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on demand.

Subscribe to The Metro on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

More stories from The Metro