A Cambodian man who has been detained by immigration officials for nine months was expected to be temporarily released ahead of his scheduled deportation after a federal court judge in Boston said in a Christmas Eve ruling that the man had been “irreparably harmed by ICE’s unlawful conduct.”
Seoun Kim, a Cambodian man born in a refugee camp in Thailand, has been detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement since March, when he was told to report to them because “it appeared ICE would soon obtain the documents necessary to remove him to Cambodia,” according to court documents. Kim is married to a US citizen and has two children — ages two and five months — who are both US citizens.
Kim came to the United States as a refugee and had become a permanent resident, but lost that status when he committed “serious crimes” that were not disclosed, according to the court, and spent 14 years in prison. He was released from prison in 2014 and “ordered removed to Cambodia,” but ICE released him on “certain conditions,” none of which he violated.
