No one could’ve imagined Yang would be deported to Laos

A former lawyer for the Hmong-American woman who was brought to the United States at eight months old and lived in Milwaukee until she was deported 11 days ago to Laos says her expulsion came as a complete surprise.

- Justin Rohrlich, The Independent

Ma Yang, 37, was born in Thailand and attained legal status as a permanent US resident before the mother of five was stripped of her green card by the Trump administration some two-plus years after being released from federal prison, where she served 30 months on marijuana-related charges.

In February, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) told Yang to report to the agency's Milwaukee facility. When she showed up, agents detained Yang, sent her to Indiana, then Chicago, and finally was shipped off to Laos.

“The United States sent me back to die,” Yang said.

Yang was removed from the US after President Donald Trump pledged during his campaign to deport “millions and millions” of people. On Saturday, he invoked the rarely-used Alien Enemies Act of 1798, which is intended for use during wartime. In a previous interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Yang said her attorney in the case never told her deportation was a possibility. Defense attorney Matt Ricci, who represented Ma Yang in the 2020 marijuana case, disputed this on Monday, saying his files and notes showed otherwise. He said he told Yang at the time that deportation “could happen,” but that he didn't think it “would happen.”