A Hmong woman living in St. Paul was not detained during a Tuesday appointment at a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services office, as she feared, but her case remains unresolved.
Nou uses her walker at her St. Paul home on Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026. Nou, who asked to be referred to by only her first name due to safety concerns, fears that, given the current surge in immigration enforcement in Minnesota, she will be taken into custody. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)
She was married to a man around three times her age when she was 15 and living in a refugee camp in Thailand in 1992. Her uncle sponsored her as a refugee and she came to California to live with her husband the next year.
Nou, who asked to be referred to by her first name for her safety, says her husband physically abused her for years, as well as controlling her emotionally and financially. In what she describes as an act of self defense, she fatally stabbed him in 2003 and stabbed herself in a suicide attempt.
She pleaded no contest to manslaughter and served nearly seven years in prison. Immigration officials were waiting when she was released. Her green card was taken and she was given a removal order, which was not carried out. She is required to have regular check-ins with immigration officials.
With the surge in immigration enforcement in Minnesota, Nou was worried she could be detained at Tuesday’s appointment.
She can’t walk on her own and is disabled — as a result of her husband’s abuse and the suicide attempt, she says — and believes she couldn’t survive detention or being deported to Laos. She and her family fled the country when she was 2, and she has no relatives there.
Nou’s brother, who is her caretaker, brought her to Tuesday’s appointment in her wheelchair. Under her jacket, Nou wore a shirt that said, “America the Beautiful.”
Two advocates also were present and one accompanied Nou into the building.
It was a short appointment at the St. Paul office, during which Nou’s fingerprints and photo were taken. Nou said afterward she was relieved, but had “a renewed sense of worry” because her next appointment is scheduled for June.
Xay Yang, the advocate who accompanied Nou, is executive director of Transforming Generations, a St. Paul nonprofit that provides support services to victims and survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault in the Hmong and Southeast Asian communities.
KaYing Yang, senior advisor for the Southeast Asian Freedom Network and Southeast Asian Action, also was there to support Nou.
“Individuals like her have already served their time, so it’s really double punishment,” KaYing Yang said of the removal order.
Xay Yang said they will try to help Nou with navigating resources and getting her the legal support she needs, which is anticipated to be expensive. Former St. Paul City Council Member Dai Thao has set up a GoFundMe (gofund.me/fd04d955f) for Nou’s legal and medical needs.
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