Laotian refugees who fled to the U.S. after the Vietnam War and settled in Minnesota are being deported to Laos due to decades-old criminal convictions. Under the Trump administration's mass deportation policy, over 400 people have been deported to Laos since May 2025. Those detained include Ricky Chandee, an engineering technician for Minneapolis, and Ounheuan Hong, a chef, both of whom have criminal records from their youth but have since been employed in their respective fields.