"Johnny Nguyen endured a grueling process to make it to Seattle in 1993. After leaving Vietnam, which was still recovering from the war with the United States nearly two decades later, Nguyen and his parents and siblings spent seven months in an overcrowded refugee camp in the Philippines. Living conditions in the camp were deplorable."
"He spent his time educating himself with library books, teaching himself multiple languages, math, and college-level English in hopes of completing his college degree, which he'd started while studying nursing. For eight years, he used these skills to tutor prisoners taking college classes at Stafford Creek Corrections Center and Washington Corrections Center where he is currently incarcerated. But for 17 years, Nguyen was denied access to higher education himself-because he's an immigrant."
"Nguyen has what's known as an immigration detainer, also called an ICE hold, which is a request made by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement to hold someone in prison or jail beyond their scheduled release date. During that window of time, ICE decides whether it wants to take the person into custody and attempt to deport them."
Johnny Nguyen arrived in Seattle in 1993 after seven months in an overcrowded refugee camp in the Philippines. He learned English through two years of government-funded ESL courses and became a certified nursing assistant. He was incarcerated in 2000 and spent years self-educating with library books, learning multiple languages, math, and college-level English. He tutored incarcerated students for eight years at Stafford Creek and Washington Corrections Center. An immigration detainer (ICE hold) disqualified him from accessing the same college classes he tutored. As of the end of June, 545 Washington prisoners had ICE holds and may face months or years in immigration detention after their sentences.
Read at The Nation
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