Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Latin Times
Latin Times
Politics
Morgan Music

Wisconsin Mom Deported by ICE to a Country She's Never Been: 'The US Sent Me to Die'

37-year old Ma Yang is a legal permanent US resident and mother of five children. Recently, Yang was deported to Laos—a country she has never been to, where she cannot speak the language and knows no one. (Credit: Facebook)

An American mother of five has been deported from Milwaukee to Laos—a country she had never set foot in until the forced move.

Ma Yang, 37, was born in a Thailand refugee camp to parents who fled the Vietnam war and, as a family, legally immigrated to the US when Yang was an infant. Now, Yang is stranded in a guarded rooming house in Laos where she cannot speak the language, has no access to insulin to treat her diabetes and has been stripped of identifying documents.

"The United States sent me back to die," Yang told the Milwaukie Journal Sentinel. "I don't even know where to go. I don't even know what to do."

In 2020, Yang lost her job during the pandemic and moved her family into a shared home that, according to federal prosecutors, participated in a marijuana trafficking operation. Yang was accused of helping to count and package cash mailed to out of state suppliers. Under her attorney's assurance that her immigration status would not be affected, Yang took a plea deal and served two and a half years in prison.

After Yang served her time, she was transferred to an ICE detention facility, where another attorney advised her to sign a document agreeing to deportation to Laos in exchange for release—under the assumption that Laos rarely accepted deportees.

In February, Yang was detained by ICE and deported to Laos within weeks. Yang says an officer forced her to sign a document stating she would not return to the US. "I just keep getting screwed in this system," Yang said.

Her removal came as Trump invoked the rarely-used Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to expedite deportations, though a federal judge has since issued a temporary restraining order blocking further removals under the wartime law.

© 2025 Latin Times. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.