ICE Arrests 16 Migrants From Community That Helped US in Vietnam War

More than a dozen migrants from Southeast Asian communities who historically allied themselves in the United States during the Vietnam War were held by immigration and the application of customs (ICE) and are now confronted with expulsion.

The Ministry of Internal Security confirmed that the ice had stopped 16 migrants in Detroit on July 30.

“This operation resulted in the arrest of multiple illegal criminal foreigners, including sexual attackers, drug traffickers, a member known to a gang who has obstructed an investigation into murder and other Laotian nationals with deepened criminal history,” said the ministry Nowsweek In a declaration sent by e-mail.

Why it matters

The detentions are involved in the midst of the continuous concerns of the defenders of the rights of immigrants concerning aggressive application tactics which have expanded under the Trump administration, with arrests and deportations of ice.

What to know

Members of the Hmong community, an ethnic group in Southeast Asia, were recruited by the CIA to help the United States against the Communist Forces during the Vietnam War and a conflict related to Laos.

Many resettled later in the United States as a refugee after having faced a persecution in their country of origin in Laos and continued to live, work and have families in the United States.

Of the 16 migrants, the ice stopped in Michigan, 15 were detained after being summoned to their Detroit field office for routine appointments, the Detroit Free Press reported.

The last man was arrested at his workplace in Lansing, according to Christine Sauvé, director of Michigan Immigrant Rights Center.

The migrants were taken to a detention center in northwestern Michigan, then in facilities in Louisiana and Texas.

Nowsweek Previously, Pang Nhia hung Bailey to the community of Hmong, a mother of four children who had lived in the United States for more than four decades, was detained on July 30.

Ice managers said to Detroit Free Press that the detainees had a criminal record and had been sentenced to be dismissed from his immigration judges over the years.

They added that the agency now took measures because it had obtained travel documents from the Laos government to send them there.

Deportations to Laos were historically difficult, but the Trump administration has pressure on the country to take the deportees, reported the point of sale.

A group of 27 legislators from Michigan asked that the detainees be immediately released in a letter to Kevin Raycraft, the Director of the field of the Ice Detroit Office.

The representative of the State Mai Xiong, the first American legislator of Hmong in Michigan, said in a Facebook video that many detainees had never gone to Laos, being born in refugee camps in other countries, or had been brought to the United States.

Maiyia Xiong, Wa Kong Lor’s wife, one of the detained immigrants, said in a statement read during a press conference: “It seemed to be a targeted operation, an easy way for ice officers to hold people without going to their homes.”

“My husband, like many others that day, was taken without warning,” she said.

SUFENG Yang, who arrived in the United States as a young child with his mother, is also one of the prisoners.

Anissa Lee, her daughter, said Yang has arrived “in search of security and a better life after the war” Detroit Free Press reported.

“He was raised here. He was educated here, and he built his life here. The United States is all he has known. He is his only house. He is not only a resident here. He is a taxpayer, a supplier, a father and a caregiver,” said Lee.

What people say

The Ministry of Internal Security said Nowsweek In a declaration: “Secretary [Kristi] Noem triggered the ice to target the worst of the worst, including gang members, murderers and rapists. Criminal illegal foreigners are not welcome in the United States “

The representative of the state of Michigan, Donavan McKinney, said at a press conference: “It’s cruel, it’s bad, it’s unfair, and it must end. We call their release. Families belong together, not torn in secret. We also call transparency and responsibility, so these horrible events cease to occur.”

What happens next

The detainees remain in police custody and their lawyers and local legislators continue to put pressure for their release.