So, criminals such as this-
Vietnamese and U.S. officials in 2008 signed a repatriation memorandum that in part said Vietnamese immigrants who arrived in America before 1995 would not be subject to deportation. Activists, however, said some of the individuals detained in October arrived before 1995, leaving them to wonder whether some of these deportations are legal.
Jenny Zhao, a staff attorney for Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Asian Law Caucus, said many of the immigrants who were detained were lawful permanent residents with valid visas but were subject to deportation because of past criminal convictions. ICE was previously forced to release them because their home countries didn’t honor U.S. removal orders, she said...
...I had no idea why they would ask for him but I told them to come back later,” said Khamvongsa. The agents returned at 5:30 a.m. the next day and arrested Neth as he left for work, she said. He was later transferred to a detention facility in Louisiana where he awaits deportation.
“The first day they took him, I couldn’t stop crying,” said Khamvongsa, a Laotian immigrant. “It’s been hard since he’s been gone. He’s the one that’s kept the family together. He pushes us to do things.”
Neth came to the U.S. at age 10 with his parents and three sisters, according to his wife. Fleeing the Khmer Rouge communist regime, the family settled in Modesto, where Neth got into trouble as a teen, she said.
Khamvongsa said Neth was convicted of possessing stolen guns at age 19 or 20. That led to a removal order in 2002 — the year Cambodian officials signed a repatriation agreement with the U.S.
Deportations of Vietnamese, Cambodians leave Bay Area Asian immigrants shaken
