Resources of Southeast Asian Philadelphians Facing Deportation Due to a Criminal Conviction
Under this administration, ICE’s authority has grown exponentially and will continue to. Once you are detained by ICE, it is extremely difficult to fight your deportation. Rarely have people been able to win their cases under this or any Presidential administration. If you or your loved one has not been detained by ICE yet, facing the possibility of being detained or deported by ICE can bring up a lot of fear, anxiety, and uncertainty. However, it is extremely important and necessary that you, your family, and your loved ones have conversations ahead of time to make plans and arrangements in the event you are detained by ICE or deported.
About This Resource
This is an ongoing resource for our community members and their families who:
Are originally/whose families were refugees/immigrants from Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia
Are impacted by crimmigration, meaning that you have a previous criminal conviction, lost your green card, and have a final removal order.
What is “crimmigration” and how are Southeast Asians impacted?
When a noncitizen (for example, a green-card holder) is found guilty of a criminal offense, not only must they face criminal penalties, their immigration status is immediately put into jeopardy under current immigration laws in the United States. This intersection between criminal law and immigration law is called “crimmigration” or “crimmigration law.” In particular, if you are convicted of a crime and serve more than a year in prison, you will be put in immigration court, and an immigration judge will remove your green card and give you a “final order of removal” as your new immigration status. People who have final orders of removal often live in limbo, needing to regularly check-in with ICE and apply for work permits. Not knowing when ICE will detain and try to deport you, the current ICE raids may raise alarm and concern. Crimmigration is expanding in the United States. The new Laken Riley Act that passed in Congress in January 2025 makes it so that any noncitizen who has been arrested for a wide range of crimes can be detained by ICE and put in immigration court.
Until there is long-term national policy change passed like the New Way Forward Act or the Southeast Asian Deportation Relief Act, the deportations of Southeast Asians will continue and/or grow. While our reality is devastating, we want to ensure that you and your family are equipped with as much specific information as necessary to make decisions around your future.
This resource is compiled by Southeast Asian advocates with years of experience working with our formerly incarcerated community members on their immigration cases. While we are not lawyers, this resource contains crucial, fact-checked information that will hopefully help you and your family prepare as best as possible.
Before ICE Detention
IMPORTANT NOTE: These items are listed in order of most to least important for your case. We highly advise you and your family to take all of these steps and to specifically prioritize earlier items.
1) Request and Gather Your Paperwork
Because your criminal case(s) could have been from very long ago, you may not have all of your criminal and immigration paperwork. However, it is possible and relatively easy to get all of your paperwork so that you can fully understand all aspects of your criminal and immigration cases. Having this info ready for a lawyer to look at is also crucial in emergency situations with ICE.
The Freedom of Information Act (or “FOIA”) gives the public the right to request access to records from any federal agency, including ICE & USCIS. Because you will be requesting your own personal information about your criminal and immigration cases, you will be able to access almost 100% of your requested records. You can get a copy of your paperwork by filing what’s called a “FOIA request.” Filing a FOIA request will not alert ICE about you. It is completely safe and your right to request your paperwork.
There are two government agencies you will need to file a FOIA with:
United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)
This will return almost everything the government has on your immigration file, including your paperwork from when you immigrated to the United States and paperwork on your deportation proceedings.
For some, you may only need this FOIA for lawyers to assess your case.
Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR)
This will return a copy of your immigration court proceedings.
While you may not need this for lawyers to assess your case, we still recommend you do this.
It can take several months for your FOIA requests to be processed by these agencies and for them to respond with your paperwork. It is important to complete this ASAP. If you are looking to hire a lawyer, they will likely do this for you—and charge you for it—but you can do this ahead of time for free.
We will be translating this resource into Vietnamese and sharing it in the future (as of September 12, 2025).
2) Consult an EXPERIENCED lawyer about your/your loved ones’ case.
During this time, having an EXPERIENCED immigration lawyer is NECESSARY and could be one of your ONLY defenses against your detention and deportation.
Because immigration law and ICE protocol keeps changing so much, you must have an expert to represent you. While in detention, ICE will communicate any updates to your situation to your lawyer, including if you are being transferred or prepared to be deported. We know that finding a lawyer is a costly investment and not all immigration lawyers have the expertise required for crimmigration cases that are often complex and more difficult to win. Please prioritize this, and start working with your lawyer before you are detained to give them time to learn the details of your case and how to best defend you.
We HIGHLY recommend you schedule a consultation and/or hire with one of these lawyers on our vetted lawyers in PA list who understand crimmigration
This is also a resource on how to vet lawyers to prevent scams
3) Deportation Emergency Planning Worksheet
VietLead has prepared this packet for families who want to “plan for the worst.” The packet includes information on:
What documents to gather for you and your family
Know Your Rights if ICE encounters you
How to plan for children, finances, and property in your care
We will be translating this packet into Vietnamese and sharing it in the future (as of September 12, 2025).
4) Know Your Rights (during an ICE raid)
This resource from the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania is a comprehensive and detailed explainer of what to do, as a citizen or non-citizen, when engaging with police and ICE in different scenarios, from your home, to your car, to your workplace.
For people with final orders of removal who check-in with ICE, ICE will likely target your arrest on your way to work, or in the early hours of the morning at your home. We highly encourage you to learn these rights so you can exercise them in the event you or someone around you is targeted or impacted by an ICE raid.
Click here to watch a KYR webinar for small business owners and workers in Vietnamese on YouTube.
What You Can Do if ICE Detains You or Your Loved Ones
ICE Locator
With your loved one’s A# and Country of Origin, you can track which detention center they are located at. This is also useful to see if ICE transfers them to a different facility. Pro tip: sometimes, ICE has names misspelled or first/last names switched.
Contact your city, state, and federal level elected representatives
Our elected officials need to be pressured to support our community. For too long, they have ignored our community’s needs. It’s important to inform your elected representative at each level of government.
Connect with resources in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia to support post-deportation resettlement
Ba Lo Project: “A grassroots mutual aid project based in the US. Our formation has grown out of the desire to ensure that our deported siblings are not forgotten.” This group can answer folks’ questions about the logistics of deportation and resettlement to Viet Nam
Vietnam
Khmer Vulnerability Aid Organization (KVAO): KVAO is the receiving organization for Cambodian deportees. The organization offers resettlement support, including obtaining legal documentation, employment assistance, temporary housing, and basic medical support.
Cambodia
Collective Freedom: “Collective Freedom is dedicated to supporting justice-impacted individuals from Southeast Asian communities. Our mission is to provide compassionate and holistic support through a collective and community based model with tools and resources necessary to navigate the impact of incarceration.” Their website has a detailed timeline of past and current SEA deportations
Laos
Legal & ICE Policy Updates
For those facing deportation to Vietnam
US and Viet Nam MOU: Read the updates to the US’s Memorandum of Agreement (MOU) with Viet Nam to learn about any changes involving “pre-1995” and “post-1995” refugees.
For those facing deportation to Laos
US and Laos Deportation Updates: Read updates to how the US is pressuring the Laos government to accept Lao deportees even without a formal agreement.
SEAFN Laos Deportation Updates: Read this additional resource from SEAFN about how the deportation process is working for folks with removal orders to Laos.
For those facing deportation to Cambodia
Chhoeun Resource Guide: Chhoeun is a class action lawsuit waged against ICE by Asian Law Caucus starting back in 2017 when the first Trump administration targeted Cambodian people for deportation. Under Chhoeun, many Cambodian people with final removal orders should get a 2-week notice if ICE will try to detain and deport them. Read the guide for more info on the lawsuit and steps to take to prepare in case of detention.
Guides and Other Resources
Asian Law Caucus (ALC): “Resources for Southeast Asian Refugees Facing Deportation”
Last updated July 29, 2025
A collection of different resources for SEAs in different languages. Includes:
Beginner-friendly guides to deportations, especially criminal deportations in Southeast Asian languages
Legal information and steps, such as how to request your records and a guide to a national lawsuit impacting Cambodian people
Updated information on the Memorandums of Agreement (MOUs) between Southeast Asian countries and the United States
Southeast Asian Resource and Action Center (SEARAC): “Resource Guide for Southeast Asian Americans Facing Criminal Deportation”
Published May 2, 2018
A 26-page guide for SEAs with removal orders based on criminal record. Includes information on:
Your right to know the deportation consequences of your criminal conviction or guilty plea entered in court
Whether you can request to be released from immigration detention and, if so, how
Information on mandatory detention
Options for fighting your deportation, including various waivers and other forms of relief
National Immigration Law Center (NILC): “A Guide for Employers: What to Do if Immigration Comes to Your Workplace”
Published January 24, 2025
A guide with detailed advice for allied employers looking to support their non-citizen employees from ICE arrests and raids at their workplace. Covers
the most common immigration actions affecting employers,
recommendations for how employers can prepare,
employers’ rights and responsibilities, and
what employers can do after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) action.
Available originally in Spanish, Chinese, Korean, and Thai
Self-Repatriation: While we believe in and support people fighting their cases as much as possible, we also know that the conditions in this country are extremely harsh toward immigrants right now. No one wants to be deported, and no one wants to risk being locked up in a cruel and inhumane immigration prison. We believe that all folks impacted by deportation have the right to know all your options and make the choices that feel best for you and your loved ones, including how to self-deport in a dignified way.
How to get your Viet Nam travel documents
How to get Laos travel documents:
General recommendation: Please contact the Lao Consulate, Moua Her, at (202) 285-5395 or mouaher.lifeintheworld@gmail.com for any general questions about the process. Lao fluency recommended.
NOTE: A trusted partner organization Providence Youth Student Movement (PrYSM) is preparing to release a more in-depth toolkit on Lao self-deportation. Please follow them to look out for the resource
We have been advised that self-deportation to Laos can be done through the following steps:
Print, complete, and submit a Laos Permanent Resident application to the Lao embassy
Lao embassy will approve and issue you a travel document, which be valid for only 30 days
Make your travel arrangements and fly to Laos within the 30-day window
How to get Cambodian travel documents—While there is no non-profit resource yet on self-deportation to Cambodia, we have been advised on these following steps:
Find a travel agency that handles travel matters to Cambodia and has a direct connection with the Cambodian consulate
As of now, we know that Phnom Penh Travel Services in Lowell, MA is one agency that can help and will also work with people out of state. You can contact them at (978) 970-5999 or lena_mao@comcast.net.
Apply for a laissez passer – a temporary travel document that will allow you to travel anywhere in Cambodia. You will need to collect the following documents:
Work permit
Real ID: NOTE: Having a Real ID is crucial. Without one, you may be detained at the airport when you try to self-deport. You can apply for Real ID once you obtain a work permit
Copy of your green card
Parent’s green card or US passport
Once you have the laissez passer, make your travel arrangements to Cambodia
When you land in Cambodia, you should be able to enter the country with the Real ID and laissez passer
NOTE: Be prepared to have to apply for your own Cambodian ID. You will need a copy your parents’ green card or US passport to then have your name into a family book. Only then can you apply to get a Cambodian birth certificate made for you and apply for an ID.
IF YOU HAVE AN ICE CHECK-IN before you can self-deport, inform them before your check-in via email that you plan to self-deport and provide the relevant documents as proof. This way, they may not detain you at your next check-in.
Contact Us
At this time, VietLead cannot take individual cases of impacted individuals. However, we are happy to answer any questions you may have about these resources and you/your loved ones’ case, based on our experiences (a reminder that we are not lawyers).
Email communitydefense@vietlead.org, and we will get back to you as soon as possible, or
Call us at (215) 253-4295. We have staff who can talk to you in Vietnamese if that is necessary.
Please call only during these times during our Community Defense Office Hours:
2 to 5 pm ET on Thursdays
1 to 5 pm ET on Fridays
If you cannot call during these times or if we do not pick up the phone, please leave a voicemail or text us your name and that you’d like to speak to someone about the immigration resources.