After 40+ years of living in the United States, and calling Quincy, Massachusetts home for the past 20 years, Lan Le is now facing deportation to Vietnam - a country she and her family escaped as refugees, and a country she no longer remembers. Lan is a single mother to nine children, who all deeply care about their mom, and all have deep roots and connections to the Greater Boston community. We are launching this campaign to join Lan in her fight for a federal pardon from deportation by December 31, 2024 so she can remain with her loved ones and community!

Lan's fight is a fight for U.S. accountability for the War in Southeast Asia. 

Lan was born in Vietnam during the War in Southeast Asia, and spent the majority of her childhood living in a country torn by imperialist wars by the United States and Europe. At 9 years old, she and her family fled Vietnam seeking safety and survival. They escaped by boat, and stayed in a Macau refugee camp until resettling to the U.S. in 1981. As the oldest of six siblings, and because of the difficult conditions her family was resettled into, Lan stepped into the caretaker role to support her parents by taking care of her siblings. Federal policies passed in the 1990s that increased funding for police and prisons, created additional barriers in accessing public benefits, and the 1996 immigration laws exacerbated the hardships Lan and her family were dealing with, and is what led to the Southeast Asian deportation crisis we are seeing today.

Lan's fight is a fight against the violence of incarceration and the prison to deportation pipeline.

In 1997, Lan was arrested and successfully completed her sentence at MCI-Framingham. At the time of her incarceration, her fifth child was only three months old, and she had been separated from her children for about two years. Being separated from her children and unable to be in consistent communication with them, she felt guilty for not being there, and worried about them on a daily basis. When Lan was released in 1999, she was committed to being more present for her family and children.  Lan made a mistake decades ago, but should not be punished for her lifetime not knowing if or when she may be deported and ripped away from her children and community.

Lan's fight is a fight for mothers, community leaders, and women who refuse to keep their story quiet.

Since her release, Lan has continued to show up as a loving mother, and leader in the community. Lan is fighting to stay so she can continue raising and caring for her youngest children. For the past four years, Lan has been organizing with the Asian American Resource Workshop (AARW) to support working-class Asian communities across Greater Boston, particularly creating spaces for Southeast Asian women to come together and transform the feeling of telling your story from one of shame to community empowerment. With the Southeast Asian Freedom Network (SEAFN), Lan has been organizing and mobilizing the Southeast Asian community across Massachusetts through a national campaign demanding an end to Southeast Asian deportations, and for US accountability of the irreparable harm and violence inflicted on Southeast Asian communities over the past 45+ years.  

Massachusetts is Lan's home, and it is all she has known since coming to this country as a child. To deport Lan to a country that she no longer knows or remembers – and rip her away from her family after she served her time – is a life punishment. We are calling on our people, our allies, and supporters to join us in Lan's Fight to Stay! Join us in Lan's fight for a federal pardon and an end to all detentions and deportations!

Sign this petition to show your support and to stay updated on how to get involved in Lan's campaign!