TUCSON, Ariz. — After three months in immigration detention at Eloy Detention Center in Arizona, a longtime Tucson physical therapist has been deported to Laos, the country he fled with his family at age 6 in the 1970s.
Vone Phrommany, pictured at right at a Lao military camp after his deportation from the U.S., said he arrived in Laos with only the clothes he was wearing when he was detained by immigration agents in July, and the detention attire he wore at Eloy. In Laos he's met distant relatives for the first time, including a cousin and half-niece who brought him a new set of clothes at the military camp. He was processed and released from the camp after about 10 days, he said.
Tucson physical therapist Vone Phrommany said he's met distant relatives in Laos, after he was deported there in late October. His cousin, Thongphet Phrommany, pictured at right, is his sponsor in Laos.
Vone Phrommany's Phoenix-based sister, Sace, at center, has booked travel to Laos to help her brother get settled, and to bring him clothes and personal items from his Marana home. His sister Steffinnie, at right, also plans to visit, Sace said. Vone's family and friends are devastated by his removal, but focusing on the positive as much as possible, she said. "Throughout this whole thing, there is light at the end of the tunnel, knowing that we actually do have relatives there" in Laos, she said.
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Contact reporter Emily Bregel at ebregel@tucson.com. On X, formerly Twitter: @EmilyBregel
How to help
Those who wish to support Vone and his family can send donations through his sister Sace’s Venmo account, @sacephrommanyrydberg, or through Zelle to the phone number 480-600-0590.
Vone Phrommany, pictured at right at a Lao military camp after his deportation from the U.S., said he arrived in Laos with only the clothes he was wearing when he was detained by immigration agents in July, and the detention attire he wore at Eloy. In Laos he's met distant relatives for the first time, including a cousin and half-niece who brought him a new set of clothes at the military camp. He was processed and released from the camp after about 10 days, he said.
Tucson physical therapist Vone Phrommany said he's met distant relatives in Laos, after he was deported there in late October. His cousin, Thongphet Phrommany, pictured at right, is his sponsor in Laos.
Vone Phrommany's Phoenix-based sister, Sace, at center, has booked travel to Laos to help her brother get settled, and to bring him clothes and personal items from his Marana home. His sister Steffinnie, at right, also plans to visit, Sace said. Vone's family and friends are devastated by his removal, but focusing on the positive as much as possible, she said. "Throughout this whole thing, there is light at the end of the tunnel, knowing that we actually do have relatives there" in Laos, she said.
