LOS ANGELES, CA – Routine ICE check-ins have recently led to the detention and deportation of Southeast Asian immigrants living in Los Angeles and Orange County, according to reporting by Tribune News Service.
A growing number of Cambodian, Vietnamese, and Laotian immigrants face threats of deportation as the Trump administration’s policies increase the enforcement of longstanding deportation orders. Advocacy groups and immigration attorneys allege that Southeast Asian immigrants—many with deportation orders that had been effectively stayed for years—are now being detained and removed from the country.
Historically, immigrants from Southeast Asia who had resided in the U.S. for decades often avoided deportation because they were no longer recognized as citizens by their countries of origin. Under longstanding practice, many immigrants avoided removal by checking in with ICE annually to demonstrate compliance with U.S. law.
However, according to Lee Ann Felder-Heim, a staff attorney at the Asian Law Caucus, recent enforcement actions have left Southeast Asian immigrants fearful of attending routine check-ins. Connie Chung Joe, chief executive of Asian Americans Advancing Justice–Southern California, told the Tribune News Service that at least 17 Southeast Asian immigrants in Los Angeles and Orange County have been detained or deported following recent check-ins.
“This breaks the community and their families apart,” Chung Joe said.
Orange County is home to approximately 100,000 Vietnamese immigrants, many of whom are refugees from the fall of Saigon. Outside of Vietnam, it represents the largest Vietnamese diaspora in the world.
Laura Urias, program director at the Immigrant Defenders Law Center, explained that many Southeast Asian immigrants were brought to the U.S. as young children and struggled to assimilate. Some became involved in gangs and the criminal justice system but later served time, found employment, and established strong community ties.
Although none of Immigrant Defenders Law Center’s clients have yet been deported, Urias noted that immigrants without legal representation have been removed during ICE check-ins. She argued that the Trump administration’s goal “to deport as many people as possible” is fueling the surge in deportations.
Richard Wilner, an attorney with the Orange County firm Wilner & O’Reilly, reported a sharp increase in consultation requests from immigrant families over the past two weeks. Wilner questioned the criteria ICE is using to decide who is targeted for deportation.
Describing some of his clients as “good folks” who have built lives and families in the U.S., Wilner said many are being detained despite their longstanding ties to the community.
The Department of Homeland Security has not responded to inquiries regarding the policy shifts or whether deported individuals will be accepted by their home countries.
