Ngoc Phan’s life took a drastic turn this spring when she prepared for her husband, Tuan Thanh Phan, to be deported to Vietnam.
At her home near Seattle, she gathered clothing, a cell phone, and travel documents as they anticipated reuniting in a few years to begin a new life together.
Despite the circumstances surrounding his criminal past, Ngoc felt hopeful, having communicated with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials about her husband’s deportation process.
“Everything that was done up to this point… there was no indication that he was going to be sent anywhere else except Vietnam,” she told NPR.
Tuan had been sentenced to 25 years in prison for first-degree murder and second-degree assault after a gang-related shooting in 2000.
Though a lawful permanent resident, his green card was revoked in 2009 due to his conviction.
He never finished serving his sentence in freedom; instead, on March 3, the day of his release, ICE officers detained him for deportation proceedings.
Phan recalls the confusion and dismay when, in the middle of the night, she learned her husband was not heading to Vietnam as planned but was instead sent to South Sudan—a country marked by political instability and poverty.
“We’ve accepted it. We planned for it, and we were looking forward to it,” Ngoc recounted, expressing her frustration with the sudden change in plans.
Her husband was among a group of men initially informed they would be deported to South Africa but were redirected to South Sudan instead.
The U.S. administration asserts that these deportees’ home countries, including Mexico and Cuba, refuse to take back individuals with criminal records, prompting the reliance on third countries for deportation.
“As a career ICE officer, I’ve been dealing with these recalcitrant countries for years… we are now able to remove these public safety threats so they won’t prey on the community anymore,” said ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons in a press conference.
However, immigration lawyers have filed lawsuits challenging these deportations, claiming that their clients were not given adequate time to contest their removal to South Sudan.
The same legal team had previously worked to halt a deportation flight aimed at Libya, which is also known for its poor treatment of migrants.
Federal Judge Brian Murphy in Massachusetts, appointed by President Joe Biden, ruled that migrants should have an opportunity to contest their deportation to any country that is not their country of origin.
This process includes obtaining a credible fear interview that allows individuals to express potential threats they may face if sent to the specific country.
“Is it okay for the government then to turn around and destroy their lives and the lives of their families… just because those individuals committed a crime for which they’ve already been convicted, they’ve already served their sentence?” asked Matt Adams, legal director of the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, part of the lawsuit against the administration.
He condemned the actions of the U.S. government as a denial of the justice system.
The practice of deporting individuals to third countries is not new; prior administrations, including Trump’s, have worked to repatriate citizens from countries like Cuba and China, among others.
Countries like Vietnam have also been selective in accepting deportees, with agreements in place that narrow down eligible individuals based on arrival dates in the U.S.
The recent policy discussions have moved to a more extensive reliance on countries that grant deportations, like South Sudan, which raises concerns about the safety of these destinations.
Despite ongoing debates, Homeland Security officials maintain that the deportation to South Sudan was justified because the men’s countries would not take them back due to their criminal histories.
“These are the ones that you don’t want in your community… these are the ones that we prioritize every day,” said Lyons.
However, determining the right course of action becomes complicated when factoring in the violent reality of life in countries like South Sudan.
The State Department has advised U.S. citizens against traveling to South Sudan due to pervasive crime and ongoing conflict.
Department of Homeland Security policy states that deportees should be given notice of their destination and an opportunity for a prompt screening concerning fears of persecution.
In practice, however, many detainees received less than 24 hours’ notice before their flights, severely limiting their ability to mount any defense against their removals.
This lack of time disproportionately affects those who do not speak English or who are navigating complex legal matters.
Immigration attorneys argue that this rush endangers justice and due process for the deportees.
Judge Murphy’s ruling mandated that the government is required to provide detained individuals with adequate notice in their native language and allow 15 days to contest their deportation, conditions that were not met in the latest flight to South Sudan.
After the flight with the deportees landed at a military base in Djibouti, a legal evaluation was ordered to assess their credible fears.
During litigation, the U.S. Department of Justice contended that Judge Murphy’s intervention impeded immigration procedures and international agreements.
“While certain aliens may benefit from stalling their removal, the Nation does not. Worse, the injunction has harmed—and will harm—American foreign policy and national security,” U.S. Solicitor General John Sauer argued in an appeal.
As this legal battle unfolds, Tuan Thanh Phan’s future remains uncertain.
Ngoc reports that her husband used to call her every day from detention, but since his deportation, she has not heard from him.
“I’m angry about it. They want to call him a barbaric monster without really understanding the details of his case… He [already] did 25 years,” she lamented.
The ongoing plight emphasizes the complexities of immigration policies, the choices made by governmental authorities, and the real impacts those decisions have on families caught in the crossfire.
image source from：https://radio.wpsu.org/2025-06-01/the-white-house-is-deporting-people-to-countries-theyre-not-from-why
