Media contact: media@asianlawcaucus.org
Asian Law Caucus Seeks Records on Arrests and Deportations of Bhutanese American Refugees
Since March, U.S. Government Has Forced Dozens of Family Members and Community Leaders Into Statelessness
SAN FRANCISCO - On the behalf of Asian Refugees United, Asian Law Caucus filed Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Department of State (DOS), and other agencies seeking information about the agencies’ policies, communications, and data related to the mass detention and deportation of stateless Nepali-speaking Bhutanese refugees. Since March, ICE has arrested at least 60 Bhutanese Americans in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Texas, and other states and deported at least 27, the majority of whom are missing and cannot be reached by their families.
This demand comes amid abhorrent ICE raids across the country. Local advocates have reported federal immigration agents violently arresting community members on the street, at work, or at immigration courthouses, and denying them the opportunity to speak to an attorney. In response to local communities uniting against ICE’s abductions, members of Congress and state officials, including Pennsylvania Gov. Shapiro, have been speaking out and demanding transparency and due process.
ICE deports Bhutanese-Americans to hostile country, exposing them to statelessness
Since 2007, the U.S. government has offered legal resettlement to Nepali-speaking Bhutanese Americans. About 90,000 community members escaped ethnic cleansing, survived refugee camps, and have since built homes and communities in more than 40 states across the U.S.
Prior to the Trump administration, approximately 122 individuals living in the community had final orders of removal to Bhutan, which would not accept their entry into the country. As a result, these community members, who are parents, caretakers, and community leaders, built lives here with their U.S. citizen family members. In March, ICE suddenly and forcefully detained dozens of Nepali-speaking Bhutanese community members and deported them to Bhutan, a country they had fled and that immediately expelled them to India. Not recognized as citizens by Bhutan nor welcomed by neighboring countries, these refugees have been forced into statelessness and are without any place to call home.
Through this request for records, Asian Refugees United and ALC seek documents that will support our efforts to bring detained and deported loved ones home, prevent the detention of additional community members, and provide transparency on the process to the Bhutanese American refugee community.
“After suffering displacement and rebuilding our lives multiple times, refugee families are dealing with a new nightmare,” said Robin Gurung, co-executive director of Asian Refugees United. “These abductions by ICE have torn loved ones and community leaders away from their families. No matter what any politician says, this country is our home and we will do everything possible to keep our families and communities safe and whole.”
“Through one of the largest resettlement efforts in U.S. history, our government made firm commitments to ensure that Nepali-speaking Bhutanese refugees and their families have opportunities to thrive here,” said Aisa Villarosa, an attorney at Asian Law Caucus. “Now, too many face deportation from the only home they have known, to a country that is unjustly and inhumanely expelling them into life-threatening conditions, where they are stateless and the vast majority remain missing.”
"The cruel deportation of beloved community members is part of a larger agenda that terrorizes refugees from across the globe who built lives here after fleeing war and repression in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America." said Nicole Gon Ochi, Director of Programs at Asian Law Caucus. "From Nepali-speaking Bhutanese community members who are deported into stateless limbo, to Hmong community members deported to Laos where they are not recognized as citizens, to Palestinians staged for removal to Israel, we demand transparency from the Trump administration about the actions they are taking in the name of the American people."
“Our families survived expulsion from Bhutan and fled violence and persecution. Now, this cycle of trauma and expulsion is repeating as my husband, best friend, and the father of our child is being taken from our community,” said Tika Mohran, a resident of Ohio. “When we came to the U.S. through refugee resettlement, we understood that this country was committed to our safety and wellbeing. We demand the return of our loved ones and are united in solidarity with every community denied such fundamental rights.”
“The U.S. government has cruelly deported Bhutanese stateless refugees with deep roots in American communities to a country that had already expelled them. These actions have sent shockwaves through stateless communities in the U.S.—people from over 30 countries and territories—who now fear removal not just to places of past persecution, but to third countries that offer no protection,” said Karina Ambartsoumian-Clough, Executive Director at United Stateless. “In a country with no legal framework to recognize or safeguard stateless people, these deportations expose thousands to indefinite detention, family separation, and permanent exile. We stand in solidarity with the Bhutanese community and urge transparency from this administration. We also urge Congress to pass the Stateless Protection Act and finally ensure lasting protections for our communities.”
Find more information from Asian Refugees United on how ICE is abducting and disappearing Bhutanese refugees.