- Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has pardoned Lue Yang, a St. Johns resident and Hmong refugee detained by immigration officials this summer
- Yang entered the country legally as an infant, but a home invasion conviction when he was a young adult complicated immigration status
- Advocates cheered the pardon, but warn that Yang remains in ICE custody: “We are in a race against time”
A Hmong refugee detained by federal immigration officials in July over a decades-old criminal conviction was pardoned by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer this week — but advocates say his legal situation remains precarious.
“We are in a race against time,” said Nancy Xiong, an Okemos-based immigration lawyer representing Lue Yang and other Hmong refugees from Michigan detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
As of Thursday afternoon, Yang remained in ICE custody and was believed to be in a facility in Louisiana, possibly on a plane that could relocate him to another facility or even out of the US, Xiong said.
“We’re hoping that somehow, somewhere, somebody can be persuasive and let ICE know to let him deplane because of the pardon.”
Yang, a St. Johns resident who serves as president of the nonprofit Hmong Family Association of Lansing, has been slated for possible deportation. He’s believed to be in Alexandria, La., a facility that’s been used as a staging area for deportations.
The 47-year-old father of six came to the US legally as an infant with his family after escaping political persecution in Laos following the Vietnam War. As a young adult in 1997, Yang was arrested on a home invasion charge, ultimately taking a plea deal and serving 10 months for the crime.
His past conviction was expunged in 2018 and is no longer public record in Michigan, but state expungements generally aren’t recognized federally, meaning US immigration authorities can still reference those records when considering a person’s legal status.
In a Thursday statement, Whitmer said she pardoned Yang after reviewing a request made on his behalf, calling him a “devoted family man and respected leader in Michigan’s Hmong community.”
Yang’s family and advocates calling for his release were relieved by the pardon, noting that it could offer a clearer path to citizenship long complicated by his prior conviction.
“My family and I need Lue to return home where he belongs,” Ann Vue, Yang’s wife, said in a statement. “This pardon shows the power of humanity and community … Now we demand ICE and DHS to bring Lue home to Michigan.”
If he were to be removed from the country, a lack of jurisdiction would likely further complicate his chances of staying in the US instead of getting deported to Laos, where his family and advocates fear his advocacy for Hmong veterans in the US may result in imprisonment or death.
Yang is one of several Hmong refugees and Laotians who were arrested in Michigan this summer.
In August, an ICE Detroit spokesperson said all had been ordered removed by an immigration judge and had criminal histories, according to the agency, including others accused of criminal sexual conduct and one “known gang member of the ‘Masters of Destruction’ with a conviction for aiding an offender and obstructing an investigation of first-degree murder.”
The federal agency did not immediately respond to an inquiry on Yang’s current location or the Whitmer pardon.
Immigration enforcement has been a key tenet of President Donald Trump’s second term, with the administration ramping up ICE recruitment efforts to boost arrest and detention rates.
The administration has said its focus is to remove the “worst of the worst” such as people with criminal records.
State Rep. Mai Xiong, a Macomb County Democrat who is also a Hmong refugee, on Thursday extended her “deepest gratitude” to the governor for pardoning Yang, noting that the development “has helped bring an urgency” to his case.
But the lawmaker, who has been pushing for Yang’s release for months, said the pardon is bittersweet because it’s not clear where he is or whether the pardon will be enough to solidify his US legal status.
“He can’t even be here to celebrate,” she said. “It’s a very bizarre and devastating situation.”
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