More Than 50 WA Lawmakers Call On Gov. Ferguson To Bring Home WA Man Shackled In Shipping Container In Djibouti After Trump "Third Country" Deportation

More than 50 lawmakers around Washington state are calling on Gov. Bob Ferguson to pardon longtime Washington resident Tuan Phan, a move they argue could save his life as he’s shackled in a shipping container in Djibouti after President Donald Trump’s experimental “third country” deportation of Phan and seven other immigrants with criminal histories. And the stakes just got higher: Yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled to lift a lower court order that blocked the Trump administration from deporting immigrants to countries other than their places of origin without first giving them the chance to raise fears of torture, persecution or death, marking a huge win for Trump who prioritizes the efficiency of his trafficking operation over basic human decency for immigrants. 

“This is the time for us to stand up,” The letter read. “It is incumbent on us, as Washington state’s elected leaders, to do everything in our power to protect the immigrant communities that now face unprecedented threats to their lives at the hands of the Trump administration.”

In addition to a gubernatorial pardon, the letter also requested Ferguson to speak out against “the cruelty of the Trump Administration’s mass deportation agenda” and “continue to work with” state lawmakers in “resolving” Washington State Department of Corrections (DOC) cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), a remaining carve out in one of the states strongest protections for immigrants, the Keep Washington Working law. 

Letter to Governor Ferguson 6.23.25 .pdf

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The letter, organized by Rep. Sharlett Mena (D-Tacoma) and Seattle City Council Member Alexis Mercedes Rinck, garnered signatures from predictable defenders of immigrant Washingtonians including King County Council Members Jorge L. Barón and Teresa Mosqueda as well as some pleasant surprises, such as Seattle City Council Member Joy Hollingsworth. In all, 37 state representatives of 98 total, or more than a third of State House members, and eight out of 49 state senators, or about a sixth of that chamber, signed the letter. 

The lawmakers join a community campaign to bring Phan home. Phan came to the U.S. as a Vietnamese refugee when he was nine years old. He grew up in Tacoma, Washington where he met his high-school-sweetheart-turned-wife Ngoc Phan. When he was 18, Phan was convicted of first-degree murder and second-degree assault after he accepted a plea deal, without knowing the associated immigration consequences. A few years into his sentence, his legal resident status was revoked. 

His family made arrangements for him in Vietnam, where they expected him to be deported. But instead, the Trump administration loaded him and seven other immigrants with criminal histories onto a plane to South Sudan, though the flight got redirected to a U.S. military base in Djibouti.

Trump asked the Supreme Court last month to lift an injunction blocking third country deportations, arguing that he should be able to ignore due process for immigrants with criminal backgrounds, even those who have served the totality of their sentences like Phan. On Monday the court obliged. This ruling endangers countless immigrants and for Phan it could mean being sent to South Sudan, where the letter argues he will be in danger. 

“We call on you to immediately pardon Tuan,” the letter read. “Doing so would save his life. It would allow him to be freed from U.S. custody, restore his lawful permanent residency, and return home to his wife and family in Tacoma.”

I asked Ferguson for comment and have not heard back.