Hmong community group slams recent deportations

Hmong community group slams deportations

On Sunday morning in St. Paul, about a half-dozen community representatives talked about recent immigration enforcement efforts in Minnesota. FOX 9 is working to determine what legal status the affected people had before their deportations, and what crimes they had previously committed.

(FOX 9) - On Sunday morning in St. Paul, about a half-dozen community representatives talked about recent immigration enforcement efforts in Minnesota.

FOX 9 is working to determine what legal status the affected people had before their deportations, and what crimes they had previously committed.

Speakers acknowledged that people deported had criminal histories. But they said many of the crimes occurred years ago, and the offenders had since become productive members of society.

Family members send a statement

The backstory:

Minnesota is home to one of the largest Hmong populations in the country. Many of the community members have been in the U.S., with refugee status, since they were children.

What they're saying:

Speakers at the press conference said right now their community is concerned.

"They keep asking when is daddy going to come home? It hurts as much as death. I have to tell them everyday that he might not come home again. It feels like my life stopped. My whole world stopped, and I just have to force myself to keep going," speaker Montha Chum read from a family statement.