At midday on June 25, a diverse coalition of community members organizing with the #BringTuanHome campaign gathered on the corner of 6th and Virginia in downtown Seattle. They were demonstrating just outside of the offices of Governor Bob Ferguson, in an attempt to raise awareness around the deportation of Tuan Thanh Phan, a 43-year-old Vietnam War refugee who came to the United States in 1991, when he was 9. The campaign requested that Governor Ferguson meet with Ngoc Phan, Tuan Thanh Phan’s partner, to speak about the federal government’s attempt to deport him to South Sudan.
“It has been six weeks since my husband was illegally deported to South Sudan, and Ferguson has yet to even comment on the situation,” said Ngoc Phan alongside representatives from the Khmer Anti-Deportation Advocacy Group (KHAAG) and other organizers. “He claims that he’s for immigrants and refugees. But where is he now? We don’t need his lip service. We need him to take action… Any day now, [Tuan] can be shipped off to South Sudan, where his life is going to be at risk. He might either be [put in] indefinite detention, tortured, or even killed. Ferguson remains silent still.”
On March 3, 2025, Phan was automatically transferred into the custody of U. S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), after being released by the Washington State Department of Corrections (DOC), which is a hand-over that Washington State law permits. Phan was convicted of first-degree murder and second-degree assault when he was 18, and he was released in early March after serving a 25-year Washington state prison sentence. Though he had previously been a legal resident, his legal status was revoked in 2009, resulting in a deportation order.
Upon being transported to ICE by the DOC, Phan signed deportation papers that said he would be deported to Vietnam. His family prepared for such an outcome, but was later notified that Phan would be deported to South Sudan – a country which the U.S. State Department’s travel advisories label as “Do Not Travel,” due to ongoing armed conflicts that include “fighting between various political and ethnic groups.”
The Trump Administration’s attempts to deport immigrants to third-party countries – or countries not listed on their deportation orders – were swiftly met with numerous lawsuits across the country. In March, U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy of Massachusetts issued a ruling that temporarily paused such third-party deportations, unless those immigrants received due process.
In a May 22 hearing, Murphy found that the federal government had violated his order by deporting a group of immigrants to South Sudan – including Phan – without following proper procedures or giving them their due process rights. The plane was then temporarily rerouted to a U.S. military base in the East African country of Djibouti. Everyone on the plane remains there in limbo, with limited or no contact to family or legal representatives.
Yet in a 6-3 vote on June 23, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Trump administration can continue to move forward with deportations to third-party countries. U.S. District Court Judge Murphy then countered that the Supreme Court ruling did not apply to Phan and the others who are now held in Djibouti, and that the original lower-court injunction should stand.
“Tuan’s legal team has filed a request for clarification from U.S. District Court Judge [Murphy],” said Chandan Reddy, an organizer with the #BringTuanHome campaign. Of those on the plane, he added, “They were never told about where they were going or whether they would have a fear of harm or violence.”
The federal government has filed an appeal to overturn Judge Murphy’s latest decision, so that the June 23 Supreme Court ruling would include Phan and everyone on the Djibouti plane. Afterwards, Phan’s legal team filed a position that overturning the District Court ruling would be illegal.
It is unclear whether the Supreme Court will take up the case. If the Supreme Court does not take it up, the lower court’s ruling will stand.
Outside of Ferguson’s office, the #BringTuanHome organizers called on Governor Ferguson to make good on his commitments to protect immigrants and refugees, as well as end the pipeline that transfers individuals from the DOC to ICE.
“People in power think that you can just ignore us… but they don’t understand their biggest mistake is to undermine the underdogs,” Ngoc Tuan said. “Tell us to our face whether you’re with us or with Trump?”
Follow updates regarding the #BringTuanHome campaign via the Khmer Anti-deportation and Advocacy Group’s website.
Vee Hua 華婷婷 (they/them) is a writer, filmmaker, and artist who splits their time between Oaxaca, Mexico, and Seattle, Washington. Much of their work unifies their metaphysical interests with their belief that art can positively transform the self and society. They are the Editor-in-Chief of REDEFINE magazine and recently held Interim Editor-in-Chief roles at the diverse journalistic outlets International Examiner and South Seattle Emerald. Prior to that, they were the Executive Director of the interdisciplinary community hub, Northwest Film Forum, where they played a groundbreaking role in making the space more welcoming and accessible for diverse audiences. Their latest short film, Reckless Spirits (2022), is a metaphysical, multi-lingual POC buddy comedy; the feature film version is slated for production in 2026. Keep updated on their work at linktr.ee/hellomynameisvee.
