Vietnamese refugee released from detention twice, finally makes it home, seeks a full pardon

As a prisoner, Phi Pham risked his life fighting California's wildfires

Five months after serving nine years in California's prison system, Vietnamese refugee Phi Pham finally was welcomed home by his family.

Pham's welcome was delayed because when his sentence was completed instead of gaining his freedom, the California Department of Correction and Rehabilitation handed him over to ICE, who wisked him away to a Colorado holding facility, far away from family, supporters and his lawyers of the San Francisco-based Asian Law Caucus.

“This summer, I walked out of Folsom State Prison after serving my time and protecting the local community from fires," said Pham, who received training while incarcerated and risked his life fighting the wild fires that raged through California's forests in recent years.

"I should have walked into the arms of my family, but ICE was there waiting. Agents sent me to a Colorado detention facility notorious for inhumane conditions. Today, I can finally hug my family and friends. We kept fighting for my freedom and future because we want this country to live up to its ideals – as a place that keeps families together and treats us the same, no matter where we were born,” said Pham.

Pham’s release follows news in November that Ricardo Vasquez Crus, the last person in ICE detention at Yuba County Jail, was released after more than three years of incarceration. Formerly incarcerated Californians like Pham and Crus are leaders in a growing statewide movement calling on Governor Gavin Newsom to grant pardons, end the voluntary policy of transferring people to ICE, and build a just immigration system that keeps families together and safe. 

Countless community members urged ICE to release Pham and continue to call on Newsom to pardon him immediately and stop the practice of transferring community members who have earned release from prison or jail to ICE for deportation.

“The transfer of Phi Pham over to ICE is part of a huge injustice that immigrants and refugees in the prison system face. His release from ICE serves as an important reminder that the battle for freedom does not end after someone is released from prison, but when they are released and relieved of further punishment," said Nate Tan, co-director of Asian Prisoner Support Committee in Oakland. 

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Family and friends welcomed home Phi Pham (holding sign) at the Oakland International Airport.

The Alliance for Boys and Men of Color estimates that transfers to ICE of people eligible for release from local jails alone cost $7.3 million in 2018 to 2019.

Pham was born in the Philippines and grew up as new immigrant in Hayward, California where he got in trouble with the law as a 20-year old.

"Phi Pham is one of many stories of immigrants and refugees enduring an extra layer of punishment after being found rehabilitated," said Tan. "Like formerly incarcerated firefighters Bounchan Keola, and Kao Saelee who received a pardon from Governor Newsom, Governor Newsom must protect all immigrants and refugees that face the threat of deportation. That begins with granting a pardon to Phi Pham and others in similar circumstances." 

As an exemplary prisoner and for his work fighting the state's devastating wildfires, Pham's 14-year sentence he received high commendations from his firefighting supervisor and received early release after nine years in Folsom State Prison.

In August, 2021 ICE sought to deport him to Vietnam, a country he had never been to thought it is the country of origin for his parents.

In January, the California legislature will consider the VISION Act (AB 937-Carrillo), which would stop the double punishment of immigrant community members based solely on where they were born. 

“With one signature, Governor Newsom can pardon Phi Pham, end the cycle of trauma and pain his family has endured, and grow our firefighting ranks,” said Anoop Prasad, Phi Pham’s lawyer and senior staff attorney at the Asian Law Caucus. 

Over the past decade, Asian Law Caucus and Asian Prisoner Support Committee have joined with immigrant rights, criminal justice, and faith-based organizations through the ICE out of CA statewide coalition to end the prison to ICE deportation pipeline and bring formerly incarcerated people like Phi Pham back to their loved ones and communities. 

In 2020, the as  the Trump administration, which advocated a hardline against immigration, was fighting for reelection and Newsom strongly criticized U.S. immigration policies, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation delivered 1,615 former inmates to ICE custody.

In the last year, ALC and our partners have seen the release of Kao Saelee, Chanthon Bun (who has since become ALC’s Yuri Kochiyama Fellow), Nayeli Pena, and Bounchan Keola (another formerly incarcerated firefighter) while continuing to advocate for the Vision Act. 

The Vision Act has won support from the California’s Democratic Party, the Black Legislative Caucus, Latino Legislative Caucus, and the API Legislative Caucus; over 180 organizations; Black Lives Matter-California, several key labor unions and federations, along with numerous Jewish organizations and Rabbis. 

Several city and county governments are backing the bill, as are District Attorneys of Los Angeles and San Francisco Counties.

“In his September victory speech, (after successfully beating back a recall attempt) Governor Newsom said Californians were saying yes to diversity, to inclusion, and to racial justice. Now, it’s time he fulfills that mandate, undos decades of anti-immigrant and anti-Black policies, and pledges support for the Vision Act,” Prasad emphasized.

 

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views with an AAPI perspective, follow me on Twitter @DioknoEd.

 

California must stop turning over incarcerated firefighters over to ICE

Incarcerated immigrants like Phi Pham, above, are fighting California's wildfires
and deportation by ICE.

By Assemblymember Wendy Carrillo and Phi Pham

Earlier this summer, as devastating wildfires were about to erupt across California, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents approached the firehouse at Folsom State Prison.

But they weren’t there to help fight the terrifying blazes that have now burned 1.3 million acres this year and counting.

Instead, they had come to detain Phi Pham, a Vietnamese refugee and incarcerated firefighter who had earned release from state prison.

If not for where he was born, Phi would have been free that day. He would have reunited with his family in Hayward, California, and pursued his dream of becoming a professional firefighter.

Instead, under a cruel state policy, prison officials transferred Phi to ICE. Even as California’s wildfires grow with terrifying speed, he now languishes in an ICE detention center in Colorado.

As a state legislator and an immigrant myself, I am angered by the double-punishment that Phi — and so many other immigrants who served their time, including other firefighters — have been subjected to.

Working with a broad coalition of organizations across the state, I’m proud to author the VISION Act (AB 937), which would protect refugees and immigrants from being funneled into ICE detention when they earn release from jails and prisons.

With a crucial Senate hearing, Thursday, August 26, I am hopeful that my colleagues in the Senate, and soon after, Governor Newsom, will champion this bill.

As legislators gather in Sacramento, Phi will remain locked in ICE detention a thousand miles away from his family and community. While he can’t join next week’s hearing, I want to share a message Phi sent me from detention:

“If the VISION Act was the law back in June, I would be working right now to become a professional firefighter to protect our state.

I came to the U.S. when I was only four months old. My parents were refugees from Vietnam who survived the war, and I was born in a refugee camp in the Philippines. Growing up in Hayward, my family never had much. My parents struggled, and I was bullied at school. Fearing for my safety, I joined a gang for protection.

Ten years ago, when I was 20 years old, I made the biggest mistake in my life and shot a man during an argument at an In-and-Out. What I did was wrong. During my time in prison, I worked hard to change my life and to make amends for the harm I caused. When I became a firefighter, I was proud to protect people and give back to the community. After a decade focusing on my rehabilitation, I earned release through the rigorous board of parole hearing process

But now that I’ve been turned over to ICE and ordered deported, I don’t know what will happen. I am afraid I will be deported to a country I have never stepped foot in and become homeless.”

Phi’s story underscores that when we use our state and local resources to transfer people who’ve earned release to ICE, we ignore their hard fought rehabilitation and their contributions to our communities.

Phi is one of a growing number of currently and formerly incarcerated community members who’ve lived the pain of ICE transfers and are calling for change. He joins domestic violence survivors like Gabby Solano and Liyah Birru, community leaders like Joe Mejia and Carlos Muñoz, and formerly incarcerated firefighters Kao Saelee, Bounchan Keola and Leonel.

These brave voices are the anchoring force for a statewide coalition that’s 180 organizations strong. They’ve won the support of local governments, legislative caucuses and labor unions. And they have transformed public opinion, with a new poll conducted by UC San Diego showing two thirds of California voters support the VISION Act.

Phi should be home right now, preparing to fight the monstrous fires threatening our state. Governor Newsom has a powerful opportunity to right this wrong by issuing a pardon for Phi — and signing the VISION Act when it reaches his desk.

About the authors: Wendy Carrillo is a member of the California State Assembly and lead author of the Vision Act, AB 937. Phi Pham is an incarcerated firefighter now in ICE custody with a pending deportation proceeding.