Scott Bailey sat in the waiting area of the Detroit ICE field office for two hours on 30 July 2025. His wife Pang had gone in for her annual immigration check-in, a routine she had followed every year since 2007.
An agent approached him. Your wife is being detained. You cannot see her.
Scott left the building without saying goodbye to his wife. Pang Bailey, 53, mother of four, spent the next six weeks moving between detention centres in Ohio, Texas, and Louisiana before being deported to Laos on 13 August. She had lived in America for 47 years.
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Hmong Refugee Who Never Knew Laos
Pang was barely one year old when her family fled Laos in 1973 for France. The Hmong people had fought alongside CIA forces during America’s Secret War in Laos. When US forces withdrew, thousands of Hmong families faced persecution and escaped.
When Pang turned six in 1978, her family resettled in the United States. She met Scott, an African American from Detroit, in 1995 whilst both worked at restaurants. They married in September 1999 and settled in Warren, Michigan, where all four of their children were born: Skylyer, Scarlytte, Scott III, and Sylus.
According to the GoFundMe campaign Scott created after her detention, Pang “never lived” in Laos.
Bank Fraud Conviction From 2000
Her green card had expired in 1995. Five years later, in February 2000, prosecutors indicted Pang and Scott Bailey for bank fraud. Court records reviewed by Newsweek show the indictment alleged they “knowingly executed a scheme to defraud and to obtain money and funds under the care and custody of a financial institution.” Pang pleaded guilty in May 2000.
The conviction meant immigration authorities would not renew her expired green card. ICE placed her on a removal order in 2007 but allowed her to remain in the country under supervision. The condition: annual check-ins with immigration officials. For 18 years, Pang attended these appointments without incident.
What Happened on 30 July
The appointment started at mid-morning. Officials separated Pang and Scott immediately. She went into a back room. He sat in the waiting area.
After two hours, an ICE agent delivered the news: Pang was being detained. Security gave Scott no paperwork, no explanation, no chance to speak with his wife. He left the building.
Pang was not alone that day. ICE detained 16 immigrants across Michigan on 30 July. Fifteen had received letters asking them to report for standard check-in appointments. ICE officials later told the Detroit Free Press the agency had recently obtained travel documents from Laos, making deportations possible after years of the Laotian government refusing to issue them.
Detention: Using Shoes as a Pillow
ICE transferred Pang first to the Corrections Centre of Northwestern in Stryker, Ohio. She spent five days there. The facility provided no pillow. She slept with her shoes under her head.
Then came Port Isabel Service Detention Centre in Texas. Pang has type 2 diabetes. According to Scott’s GoFundMe: “My wife stated that the living conditions were horrible in that facility and her medical treatments were delayed.” Scott added that she had to use her own shoes as a pillow whilst being held at Port Isabel.
Her final stop before deportation was South Louisiana ICE Processing Centre. Newsweek confirmed through ICE detention databases she was being held there in early August whilst authorities arranged her deportation.
Military Flight to Vientiane
On 11 August, a US Air Force C-17 departed Alexandria, Louisiana. The military cargo plane stopped at Guantanamo Bay to collect additional detainees, refuelled in Hawaii, then continued west across the Pacific. Thirty-two people were on board.
The plane landed in Vientiane, Laos, on 13 August. The Detroit News confirmed that 15 of the 16 Michigan detainees were on that flight.
The Department of Homeland Security announced the deportations that same day. The press release listed “Pang Ngia Hang, 53-year-old illegal alien, convicted for bank fraud” alongside gang members and child sex offenders.
Military Compound in Vientiane
Authorities transported the deportees to a military compound in the Laotian capital. Deportees cannot simply leave upon arrival. They need a sponsor, typically a family member already living in Laos, who can vouch for them and provide housing.
Pang has no family in Laos. She left as an infant.
Christine Sauvé from Michigan Immigrant Rights Center told The Detroit News in August she heard the deportees “made it to Laos safely, that they had been fed and they are being treated well.” A new nonprofit organization had formed in Laos to assist Hmong deportees, she said.
Michigan State Representative Mai Xiong told reporters in August the deportees would need to secure sponsors before being released from the compound. Some had extended family in Laos who could help. Others, like Pang, did not.
As of December 2025, four months after her deportation, Pang remains in Vientiane.
Four Children in Warren
Scott created a GoFundMe campaign on 7 August seeking $7,500 for legal fees. “My wife Pang Nhia Hang-Bailey, she took my last name through marriage of twenty-six years,” he wrote. “We met in 1995 and got married September 26, 1999.”
He described her as “a tax payer, a Christian, and a mother of 4 children that her and I raised and because of Pang’s dedication and teaching methods 3 of our kids have graduated high school and our last child is graduating in 2027.”
As of December 2025, the campaign has raised $1,547 from 27 donors.
Community Rallied, Lawmakers Protested
The Hmong community in Michigan responded quickly. State Representative Mai Xiong held a press conference on the steps of the Michigan State Capitol in Lansing on 7 August. The next day, another press conference took place in Detroit with roughly 200 people attending.
Twenty-seven Michigan state legislators signed a letter to ICE’s Detroit field director demanding the detainees’ immediate release.
State Representative Donavan McKinney told the crowd: “It’s cruel, it’s wrong, it’s unjust, and it must end. We are calling for their release. Families belong together, not torn apart in secrecy.”
Three days after the Detroit rally, Pang and the others were on a military plane to Laos.
Why 2025 Was Different
For years, deportations to Laos were nearly impossible. The Laotian government refused to issue travel documents for people the US wanted to deport. That changed in 2025 under Trump administration pressure as part of a nationwide enforcement surge. ICE detention populations grew from 39,000 in January to over 61,000 by August, the highest levels since the agency’s creation.
Laos issued travel documents for 145 people in the first six months of 2025, compared to about ten per year historically. The Asian Law Caucus estimates over 4,800 people considered by ICE to be nationals of Laos have removal orders and are living in the United States. This includes Hmong, Mien, and other ethnic minority groups.
The Asian Law Caucus noted that Laos has no formal repatriation agreement with the US. In June 2025, America placed a partial travel ban on Laos and stopped issuing certain visas, citing “failure to cooperate with U.S. deportation policy.” The diplomatic pressure worked. Travel documents began flowing. Deportation flights began leaving.
Similar enforcement actions targeted immigrants nationwide. Sergio Cerdio Gomez attended a routine USCIS interview in Washington state in April and ICE arrested him despite his pending residency application. Claudio Cortez-Herrera, a Michigan green card holder for over 20 years, was surrounded by ten agents at a post office. Both men had decades-old convictions. Both were deported within months.
Eight Thousand Miles Apart
Scott continues raising four children alone in Warren. The GoFundMe campaign sits at $1,547 of its $7,500 goal.
Pang Bailey remains over 8,000 miles away in Vientiane, confined to a military compound whilst waiting for a sponsor. Her detention lasted six weeks. Her separation from family has now lasted four months, with no clear timeline for reunion.
She attended her eighteenth annual check-in on 30 July 2025. She has not seen her family since.
