Thuoy Phok expected his meeting with U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement to be brief — so brief that he hadn’t eaten breakfast. A plumber from Tacoma, Phok planned on returning to work later that day.
“I thought maybe it was good news,” Phok, 43, recalls of the Sept. 10, 2018, meeting in Tukwila, taking off his baseball cap and running a calloused hand over his balding head.
Phok, a Cambodian refugee whose family escaped genocide and arrived in the United States in 1980, had received a notice summoning him a few weeks earlier. He said the letter told him only that federal immigration officials — who he’d been checking in with regularly over the last 18 years — wanted to see him.
The meeting, it soon became clear, would be a one-sided affair. For Phok, the results would be life-changing.
It was brief, lasting 10 to 15 minutes. When it was over, Phok said he was taken to a holding cell. He’d remain detained in various immigration facilities, he told The News Tribune, for the next three months.
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“I thought maybe it was good news,” Phok, 43, recalls of the Sept. 10, 2018, meeting in Tukwila, taking off his baseball cap and running a calloused hand over his balding head.
Phok, a Cambodian refugee whose family escaped genocide and arrived in the United States in 1980, had received a notice summoning him a few weeks earlier. He said the letter told him only that federal immigration officials — who he’d been checking in with regularly over the last 18 years — wanted to see him.
The meeting, it soon became clear, would be a one-sided affair. For Phok, the results would be life-changing.
It was brief, lasting 10 to 15 minutes. When it was over, Phok said he was taken to a holding cell. He’d remain detained in various immigration facilities, he told The News Tribune, for the next three months.
Continue Reading>>
The history of Cambodian refugees is one of immense strength and resilience in the face of unfathomable hardship. Asian Americans Advancing Justice - Asian Law Caucus collaborated with illustrator Natalie Bui to depict this history and to affirm our unwavering support for our Khmer community.
Check out Natalie’s work on Instagram at @nataliepbui and on her website: nataliebui.com
Check out Natalie’s work on Instagram at @nataliepbui and on her website: nataliebui.com