Why a Vietnamese man was deported to South Sudan
Last month Pierce County resident Tuan Thanh Phan was deported.
That wasn’t unexpected for Tuan or his family - he was planning on starting a new life in Vietnam after he was deported. His permanent residency was revoked in 2009, nearly ten years after he was convicted of first degree murder and second degree assault.
The surprise was where he went. He wasn’t going to Vietnam, his birth country.
Instead, Tuan ended up on a flight to South Sudan. That was redirected to Djibouti.
The flight was part of a push by the Trump administration to remove convicted visa holders from the U.S. – back to countries that aren’t their own.
Now Phan's wife is sounding the alarm - she hasn't heard from her husband since he was sent to Djbouti.
Guest:
- KUOW Race, Identity, and Immigration Reporter Gustavo Sagrero Álvarez
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Bill Radke
Host
Bill hosts Week In Review and Words in Review. After starting with KUOW as a University of Washington student in 1985, Bill was KUOW's morning host in the '90s and the creator of past show, Rewind, a news-satire show heard on KUOW and nationwide on NPR. Bill moved away to Southern California to host American Public Media's Weekend America and Marketplace Morning Report and returned to KUOW in 2012.
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Gustavo Sagrero Álvarez
Race, Identity, and Immigration Reporter
Gustavo covers the intersection of race and identity for KUOW, writing stories that center voices often not catered to in typical news. He's most interested in covering how communities effect the levers of power they hold, to effect change.
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Sarah Leibovitz
Supervising Producer, Soundside
Sarah joined KUOW in 2019 as senior producer on The Record. She is now Supervising KUOW’s new noon time show, Soundside. Prior to working at KUOW, Sarah was lead producer at the Seattle podcast production company Larj Media, and a teaching artist with Path with Art.
More stories from Sarah Leibovitz »
