Ever since Donald Trump began his second term, his immigration policies have sparked outrage and controversy. Critics have accused his administration of ramping up deportations with little regard for humanitarian consequences. From mass arrests to invoking rarely-used wartime laws, his crackdown has sent shockwaves across the country.
Now, his administration’s latest deportation decision has left a Milwaukee mother of five stranded in Laos—a country she has never been to, where she knows no one, doesn’t speak the language, and has no legal documents according to a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel report.
Ma Yang, 37, is now being held in a rooming house in Laos under military guard. She says her papers have been confiscated, and she has no way to buy food, rent a place, or access healthcare.
A Hmong American woman who has lived in the Milwaukee area since she was 8 months old was deported last week to Laos, a country she has never visited, and says she is stranded in a rooming house surrounded by military guards. pic.twitter.com/3frtRmzBCk
— Phil Williams (@PhilNvestigates) March 15, 2025
“The United States sent me back to die,” she told the outlet. “I don’t even know where to go. I don’t even know what to do.”
Very unfortunate that her hardship doesn’t end here. Yang suffers from diabetes and high blood pressure and is running out of medication. She says she does not have access to insulin or essential treatment in Laos. “How do I rent, or buy, or anything, with no papers?” Yang asked. “I’m a nobody right now.”
Yang was born in a Thai refugee camp but was a legal US resident until she was convicted on marijuana-related charges and sentenced to more than two years in prison. She accepted a plea deal after her attorney wrongly assured her it would not affect her immigration status. However, her legal permanent residency was revoked following the conviction.
“I made a mistake and I know that it was wrong,” Yang admitted. “But I served the time for it already.”
After completing her sentence, Yang was taken to an ICE detention center in Minnesota, where another attorney advised her to sign a document allowing her release. Little did she realize, with the sign, she is agreeing to an automatic deportation order.
Trump signs most explosive executive order yet as he pulls all federal funding to illegal migrants.
All federals funds encouraging and supporting illegal aliens halted immediately 🎯🔥 pic.twitter.com/WvSZ97cbE7
— Megh Updates 🚨™ (@MeghUpdates) February 20, 2025
Her lawyer mistakenly believed she would never be deported because the US rarely sends people to Laos and the country has historically refused deportees. Yang also hoped to reopen her case due to poor legal representation, but her appeal was denied.
“I just keep getting screwed in this system,” Yang lamented.
Yang’s removal is part of President Donald Trump’s aggressive deportation campaign, in which he vowed to deport “millions and millions” of people in what he calls the largest immigration crackdown in US history.
Last Saturday, Trump signed an executive order that invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798. That is a rarely-used wartime law that allows the government to speed up deportations if the country is at war or facing foreign threats.
However, late Saturday night, Chief Judge James Boasberg issued a temporary restraining order which blocked deportations under the Alien Enemies Act for at least 14 days.
This ruling prevents the removal of any non-citizens currently in custody under the wartime law, but Yang had already been deported before the order took effect.
Yang is now stuck in a country she has never set foot in, with no legal status, no support system, and no way to provide for herself.
Her family and supporters in Milwaukee are calling for her return. Trump’s immigration policies are becoming even more aggressive and it remains to be seen where Yang’s chances of returning to the US stand.
