A Hmong American woman who has lived in Wisconsin since she was 8 months old was deported to Laos, following a guilty plea in 2020 related to her role in a federal cannabis trafficking case. Ma Yang, 37, was a legal permanent U.S. resident who had served 2 1/2 years in prison for her involvement in the operation.
As part of her plea agreement, Yang was led to believe she could keep her green card and stay in the U.S. However, upon completing her sentence, she was transferred to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility in Minnesota.There, on the advice of her attorney, Yang signed a document agreeing to a deportation order in exchange for her release from detention.
Yang and her attorney were under the impression that the deportation would not occur, especially considering that no one had been deported to Laos the previous fiscal year, according to federal data.
After her release, Yang attended regular ICE check-ins, but in a surprising turn, she was called by ICE last month for a meeting—nine months ahead of her scheduled check-in date. Following the meeting, she was detained, sent to jails in Indiana and Illinois, and ultimately deported to Laos.
Yang is now barred from returning to the U.S., marking a controversial and emotionally charged end to a case that has sparked debate over the intersection of immigration policy and criminal justice in the cannabis industry.
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