Sok Khoeun Loeun was born in Cambodia and grew up in Fresno, California, where his family resettled as refugees. In 2015 Loeun’s mother, Nath Meas, finally saved enough money from her doughnut shop business to take her family—parents, children, and grandchildren—on a trip back to Cambodia. The momentous trip included visiting the village Loeun’s parents grew up in, and where his father witnessed his brother’s murder during the Cambodian genocide by the Khmer Rouge regime.

When the family returned to the US, a customs agent stopped Loeun because of a marijuana possession charge from 2012, for which he had already served a sentence. The agent did not believe Loeun was a citizen and detained him for hours. His family could not afford a lawyer, and Loeun feared that US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) could deport him anytime if he remained in Fresno. The agent suggested an “easy” solution: Loeun could self-deport. Under duress, Loeun accepted this option, and voluntarily left for Cambodia.

There was however one significant piece of missing information: Loeun became a US citizen when he was twelve years old, which was also when his mother became a citizen. His deportation order was invalid due to a simple clerical error. After five years in Cambodia, Loeun finally returned to the United States.

This module outlines contemporary anti-Asian restriction and exclusion policies. We will learn about different immigrants and their stories to better understand policies, laws, and institutions that target Southeast Asian communities for deportation and South Asian, Arab, and Muslim communities for surveillance and detention.