Three Cambodian ex-convicts deported last month from the US were discharged from voluntary custody Wednesday night, and the remaining three were scheduled to be released Thursday, an Interior Ministry official said.
The Ministry of Interior released the deportees from the US into the custody of “sponsor” family members or friends, who will house the ex-felons and help them integrate, said one source who declined to be identified.
“[The six deportees] are in good spirits and good health, and they are looking forward to moving on with their lives,” the source said Thursday.
Meach Sophana, director of immigration for the Ministry of Interior, confirmed on Thursday that all the deportees will leave the foreign department inside the Interior Ministry. He declined to comment on where they will go.
The Cambodian ex-convicts arrived from the US on June 22 and are the first group of Cambodian felons to be repatriated under an agreement signed between the two countries. The agreement allows the US to send Cambodians convicted of “aggravated felonies” to Cambodia after they serve their prison sentences if the ex-felons do not have US citizenship. The agreement could potentially affect 1,431 Cambodians who have lived in the US since the 1980s and 1990s.
There is no word yet from any officials on when the US will send the next group of deportees to Cambodia. One source said that one of the goals for the deportees currently in the US is to find employment once they arrive.
