Women deported on pot conviction fights to return to U.S.

A Hmong American woman born in a refugee camp and who came to America at eight-months old is fighting her deportation to Laos.

Ma Yang told the Milwaukee Journal that she is currently being held by military authorities at a rooming house in Laos. They told her she could leave, but she’s scared to venture out in a country where she doesn’t know anyone.

She originally served 2 1/2 years under a plea deal in a U.S. prison. Prosecutors say she helped count and packaged cash mailed to marijuana suppliers. She said she agreed to the plea deal because her attorney mistakenly told her it would not impact her immigration status.

However, authorities ended up taking away her green card.

After completing her sentence, officers from ICE took her to a detention facility. Another attorney then advised her to agree to a deportation order back to Laos knowing that Laos normally refuses to accept deportees. However, on March 6, authorities put her on a plane to Laos.

Her longtime partner Michael Bub is now organizing a GoFundMe campaign to raise money to bring her home.

“This is the only home she has ever known,” wrote Bub. “She built her life in Milwaukee, working hard as a nail technician and receptionist while raising five children, ages 6 to 22. Recently she welcomed her first grandchild.

The journey home could be a long one even if the family is successful. The Independent reports even if successful, immigration attorney Jath Shao estimates she would not be allowed to return until the 2040s.