Hmong refugee pardoned by Michigan governor still faces deportation to Laos

A gubernatorial pardon in Michigan has not ended the deportation threat for Lue Yang, a 47-year-old Hmong refugee and community leader who remains in federal immigration custody and may be sent to a country where he has never lived.

About Yang and his case: Yang, a father of six, was born stateless in a refugee camp in Thailand and arrived in the U.S. in 1979 as a 1-year-old. His family had fled Laos following persecution tied to the Vietnam War, where his father served with American forces in CIA covert operations. Over the decades, he built a life in Michigan, working as an engineer and leading the Hmong Family Association of Lansing as its president.

That stability came undone because of a decades-old conviction. In 1997, Yang accepted a plea deal for a home burglary charge and completed a 10-month sentence. He was ordered removed from the country in 2002, according to advocates, though ICE records indicate 2001. Michigan authorities expunged the conviction in 2018. However, federal immigration officials do not recognize such state-level expungements, which blocked Yang’s repeated attempts to secure citizenship. On July 15, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents arrested him at his workplace during a broader sweep that detained 16 Hmong and Laotian refugees.

State pardon and community response: Gov. Gretchen Whitmer granted Yang a pardon last Wednesday, erasing his conviction and clearing his record. In announcing the decision the next day, her office called him “a devoted family man and respected leader in Michigan’s Hmong community.” The move represents Whitmer’s first known action this year on behalf of Michigan immigrants facing ICE enforcement.

The pardon brought hope but not certainty. “We applaud and thank Gov. Whitmer for her courage in granting Lue this pardon. Now we demand ICE and DHS to bring Lue home to Michigan,” Yang’s wife, Ann Vue, said in a statement. If deported to Laos, advocates fear his work advocating for Hmong veterans in the U.S. could lead to imprisonment or death.

What’s next: As of Thursday, Yang remained in ICE custody at a facility believed to be in Alexandria, Louisiana, a site that serves as a staging point for deportations. The agency has not disclosed his precise location. Nancy Xiong, his immigration attorney, warned that they are “in a race against time.” Michigan State Rep. Mai Xiong, a Hmong refugee herself, emphasized that the pardon can only help Yang fight his case if he is still on U.S. soil or airspace.

That window may be closing. While gubernatorial pardons may help for some convictions, Laos has begun cooperating with U.S. deportation efforts following Washington’s imposition of a partial travel ban and visa restrictions in June 2025. Yang is among more than 4,800 individuals whom ICE considers Laotian nationals with removal orders, as per the Asian Law Caucus, with many coming from families that aided U.S. forces during the Vietnam War.