Hmong refugee leader released after months in ICE custody

A Michigan community leader detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) since July walked free last Wednesday after bipartisan advocacy and a gubernatorial pardon ended a months-long ordeal that drew attention to the uncertain legal standing of refugees who aided the U.S. during the Vietnam War.

Reunited with family: Lue Yang, 47, was transferred from North Lake Correctional Facility in Baldwin to an ICE center in Grand Rapids on Dec. 3, where he was greeted by his wife, six children and elected officials who championed his case. “Oh man I couldn’t explain, just so great to be set free,” Yang told WILX shortly after his release. He described his time in detention facilities across Louisiana, Arizona and Texas as “rough” but credited family and supporters for giving him the strength to endure.

Meanwhile, his wife Ancy Vue expressed relief that he would be home for the holidays, telling the Detroit Free Press about the family’s eagerness to see him “shower and come out of the same outfit that he’s been wearing since July 15.”

About Yang: Born stateless in a Thai refugee camp, Yang came to the U.S. in 1979 as a 1-year-old after his family fled Laos, where his father had served with American forces in CIA covert operations. He has since lived in Michigan and built a life as an engineer for an auto supply company that serves GM. He was serving as president of the Hmong Family Association of Lansing when ICE agents arrested him at his workplace on July 15. He was among 16 Hmong and Laotian refugees detained in a summer sweep, with the others being deported.

Yang’s legal trouble stemmed from a 1997 home invasion conviction when he was 17. He was charged for being in the car during a break-in, which resulted in a 10-month jail sentence. Michigan expunged his conviction in 2018 under clean slate laws, but because federal immigration officials do not recognize state-level expungements, his repeated citizenship attempts were blocked. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer pardoned him in late October, and bipartisan advocacy from U.S. Rep. Tom Barrett and State Rep. Mai Xiong, herself a Hmong refugee, helped secure his release.

Why this matters: Yang’s release exposes a troubling reality for Asian American refugee communities. Under the Trump administration, it appears allegiance to the U.S. in wartime offers no immunity from deportation. For Hmong Americans whose families were recruited by the CIA in the 1960s to battle communist forces in Southeast Asia, the message is stark. Despite his father’s service, despite 46 years of residency, despite community leadership and a gubernatorial pardon, Yang spent nearly five months in detention and still lacks permanent legal status. The case reveals how criminal records, even those committed as juveniles and later expunged, can be weaponized against refugees who have spent their entire lives as Americans in all but paperwork.

However, the case also demonstrates what sustained, cross-partisan advocacy can achieve. Nonprofit Rising Voices called his return “a beacon of hope” for immigrant communities “facing persecution and violence from our government at an unprecedented scale.” The coalition that freed Yang, which includes Democratic and Republican lawmakers, immigrant rights organizations and Hmong community groups, offers a template for protecting vulnerable families.

Yang still faces legal hurdles, with a pending motion to reopen his case and remove his final deportation order.