Eight Cambodians detained for possible repatriation

By Leslie Berestein
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

June 23, 2007

The apprehension of several Cambodian immigrants by federal agents in recent weeks has members of San Diego County's small but tightly knit Cambodian-American communityfearful.
According to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, eight Cambodian immigrants from the San Diego area with prior criminal convictions have been detained in anticipation of a repatriation flight that would take them, along other Cambodian deportees from around the United States, back to their home country.

The recent apprehensions caught several local families off guard. Until five years ago, the Cambodian government refused to accept deported refugees, many of them individuals who had been convicted of a crime in the United States.

With nowhere to send them, the U.S. government released many of them on what are known as supervised orders of removal. They were required to check in periodically with immigration officials, but years went by and many went on with their lives.

One of them is Thoeung Sun,, 34, a City Heights man who was convicted in 1995 for his involvement in a drive-by shooting. According to his wife, he had long since put his past behind him.

“After he was released, he completely changed his life,” said Anne Panhwanh, who is Laotian. “He made $80,000 a year. He changed his life. He had a family. And in just one day I am stuck with three kids. He was the primary caretaker of our family.”

Panhwanhsaid her husband was ordered to report to immigration authorities on June 8 and was detained. His brother, who also had a prior conviction, was detained the same day.

“Both grew up here for the majority of their lives and have no connection to Cambodia,” said Tony Lasavath, a family friend.

Sinyen Ling, a staff attorney with the Asian Law Caucus in San Francisco, said the process of repatriating Cambodians marked for deportation has been very slow, even after March 2002, when the U.S. and Cambodian governments signed a repatriation agreement.

At first, she said, the flights to Cambodia were fairly frequent, but they dropped off around 2005. Of those to be deported, only about 163 have been sent to Cambodia since the flights began, she said; as many as 2,100 more are still on the list for repatriation.

“I've heard no news that these flights were taking place for almost two years now,” Ling said. “I am curious as to why they have decided to pick up their pace.”

One reason why flights are infrequent is that to be issued travel documents, the deportees must be interviewed by government officials who travel to the United States from Cambodia, Ling said.

Interviews had been scheduled to take place in the next few weeks in San Diego, hence the recent apprehensions, Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman Lauren Mack said.

However, she said yesterday that there has been a delay on the part of the Cambodian government, meaning those detained may not be sent back right away. Their cases will be reviewed, she said, and some may be released, at least temporarily.