A Milwaukee woman who is the mother of five children finds herself quickly evicted from the only residence she has experienced since birth.
The hasty removal of her homeland has led her children into an uncharted existence.
The 37-year-old woman Ma Yang came into the world in the Thai refugee camp after her Hmong parents escaped from the war-ridden Vietnam.
The woman settled in the United States at the age of one year and spent her entire life in Milwaukee Wisconsin.
She has spent approximately forty years living in the United States while raising her five kids with her 16-year-partner Michael Bub.
The nail technician occupation provided Yang financial support for her family while she maintained constant residency status in the country.
Her life took an irreversible change when she made a legal mistake.
The house where Yang settled with her family turned out to belong to a marijuana trafficking organization that she and her family were completely unaware of.
She had helped to count and package cash which Canadian suppliers received through the shipping operation.
The authorities charged her with operating within the official network of the distribution organization causing her to plead guilty then receive two-and-a-half years of prison time.
She planned to see her children following her prison term to start her life again.
The authorities took her from prison to an ICE detention center located in Minnesota.
The laws related to strict U.S. immigration regulations made her subject to deportation because of her previous conviction.
Her legal resident status could not stop the automatic deportation process that started because of her criminal conviction.
Her attorneys together with Yang tried multiple times to fight her deportation order yet they experienced complete failure.
The immigration judge issued an order for her deportation to Laos during December 2022.
Despite having non-citizen legal status in the U.S. she never came to Laos and had no relatives in the country whereas she did not understand the local language either.
Legal intervention served as her last hope to prevent the impending deportation before its execution.
The deportation forced her to Laotian capital Vientiane began on March 6th.
She currently stays in a foreign country as a complete stranger deprived of all important documentation.
She lives under military supervision at a state-run housing establishment.
Without documentation she receives no access to obtain housing or employment opportunities and she cannot receive proper medical treatment.
The medical condition of diabetes makes Yang worry that she will lack access to necessary medications.
She had to remain without communication with others for five days upon her arrival.
The government official told her that she could leave but her unknown status prevented her from leaving.
Without official identification papers I cannot buy anything such as a home or rent property or perform any other similar transaction. Yang expressed her frustration.
“I’m a nobody right now.”
The abrupt disappearance has caused her family throughout Milwaukee to handle their problems alone.
The person whom Yang brought to this country now must care for their children by himself because she always took care of this responsibility.
Their oldest child has become the keeper of the family while her younger brother and sister need care.
Their pursuit of answers became essential for them as they continue to suffer emotionally and financially.
Bub showed disbelief when he saw how quickly Yang was deported from the country.
According to him she did not contact anyone or make any sort of communication before departing.
The United States now enforces stricter deportation strategies which affects stable permanent residents who have lived in the country.
Nowadays legal immigrants with convictions can be redirected out of the country before reaching a trial court.
The deportation of Yang indicates a significant change in United States immigration enforcement procedures.
Statistical information from the federal government reveals Laos has shown minimal willingness to receive deported people.
During the most recent fiscal year Laos did not receive any reported deported immigrants into the country.
The authorities sent Yang to Laos without her having any supports for survival or local connections.
She declared: “The United States delivered me to Laos for a death sentence.”
I do not have any concept of where I should proceed. At this moment I have absolutely no idea what to do.
Her situation has drawn strong criticism from advocacy groups because they believe such deportation cases should not take place.
Numerous individuals consider that her sentence outweighs the nature of the offense she committed.
The stranded Yang asks America to give her another opportunity to rebuild her life which she established in the United States.
Through their battle to retrieve her to America her family hopes her narrative will transform into a warning for all.
You should not return us to our home country since we dedicated our life to supporting yours. Yang asked.
“How is this OK?”
