U.S. deportations to Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia have surged nearly nine-fold, putting older refugees and people with decades-old removal orders at risk of being sent away. Data cited by the Southeast Asia Resource Action Center (SEARAC) show that 42% of all Southeast Asian deportations since 1998 took place in fiscal years 2025 and 2026. The share reached 64% for Laotian deportations and 51% for Vietnamese deportations.
The recent removals include people with convictions that date back decades. Many came to the United States as refugees after the Vietnam War and built lives there over many years.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement removed 1,851 Vietnamese nationals during fiscal years 2024 and 2025 and fiscal year 2026 through June. Of those, 1,094 removals came in FY2026; the total later rose by nearly 200. The reported count covers the period through June, followed by that later increase.
SEARAC figures also describe a steep rise in removals of people age 55 and older, with deportations in that group reportedly up 20-fold. Nearly 80% of targeted Southeast Asian nationals had convictions at least 10 years old. More than 50% had convictions at least 20 years old. Among Vietnamese deportees in 2025 and 2026, approximately half had convictions at least two decades old.
More than 8,600 Vietnamese nationals reportedly have orders requiring their removal from the United States. An order can remain enforceable long after it was issued.
A 2025 policy reversal weakened a longstanding limit on removals
Many people now facing removal entered the United States as refugees and remained for decades because their countries of origin had historically declined to issue travel documents for some returnees. For Vietnamese nationals who entered before July 12, 1995, an arrangement between the United States and Vietnam historically limited removals to Vietnam.
That practical protection weakened in June 2025, when the administration rescinded a longstanding ICE policy. The policy had treated many pre-1995 arrivals as unlikely to be removed in the reasonably foreseeable future.
A final removal order generally remains enforceable even if the government could not previously carry it out. There is ordinarily no general statute of limitations that automatically cancels an old order. A green card alone does not prevent removal when a person is deportable under the Immigration and Nationality Act, including after certain criminal convictions. U.S. citizenship generally offers substantially stronger protection.
Some returnees have spent most of their lives in the United States
Some people sent back arrived as children and spent most or all of their adult lives in the United States. Vietnamese authorities have reportedly encountered returnees who are elderly or in poor health, lack current identity documents, or have lost contact with relatives who might receive them. Some struggle to find work or obtain medical care.
Removal can also break up practical support systems. People with old convictions may lose access to prescriptions, disability services, Social Security-related support, housing, and family caregiving arrangements.
Third-country transfers add destinations beyond the country named in an order
The United States has expanded third-country removals, sending some people to places where they have no citizenship, family, or prior connection. Reported examples include flights to Eswatini carrying people from Vietnam and Laos.
Reports describe more than 25,000 people removed to at least 28 third countries during the current administration. Publicly reported totals and counting methods vary. A transfer to a third country can raise questions about adequate notice, compliance with removal procedures, and whether the destination exposes someone to persecution or torture. Protection against transfer to a particular country may also apply, depending on the person’s case.
A case review starts with the court file and ICE records
The available legal options depend on the individual record. They may include a motion to reopen, asylum or withholding issues, protection under the Convention Against Torture, adjustment or other status-based relief, or a challenge based on defective notice, changed country conditions, or a statutory exception.
A lawyer reviewing a case may need to assess mandatory detention or removal, whether a criminal ground under INA §237(a)(2) applies, and whether a motion to reopen is timely or fits an exception. Relevant records include:
- The immigration judge’s final order and any Board of Immigration Appeals decision.
- The complete A-file, obtainable through a Freedom of Information Act request, and ICE custody and removal records, including travel-document requests.
- Criminal-case dispositions, charging documents and sentencing records.
- Evidence of residence, family ties, health conditions, rehabilitation and country conditions.
- Deadlines for a motion to reopen, stay of removal, petition for review or other available relief.
A person’s long residence or an old order alone does not determine whether removal can be stopped. The result depends on the immigration record, the criminal case and any protection or relief that applies. People facing removal should have those issues assessed promptly by a qualified immigration attorney.
This article provides general information and is not legal advice. Consult a qualified immigration attorney about your specific case.
