Ohio town rallies around man who faces deportation to Laos after 40 years in the U.S.

Boudylam “Lam” Simmavanh is a welder and father of four who came to the U.S. 40 years ago. He now faces deportation to a Laos, a country he left as a child refugee.

Boudylam “Lam” Simmavanh is a welder and father of four who came to the U.S. as a child refugee from Laos 40 years ago. He knew that after President Donald Trump took office and vowed the “largest deportation operation” in U.S. history, his future could be in peril.

So he and his family began gathering letters in February from family and community members attesting to his character and his positive impact on their small town of Orrville, Ohio. They hoped the letters would show officials why someone like Simmavanh, 48, should remain in their community.

“Allow productive people, like Lam, the avenue to stay with his family. This can’t be fixed by tearing families apart that have lived here most of their lives,” wrote David Handwerk, the former mayor of Orrville who taught Simmavanh and his siblings when they were students at the local school.

“Lam has been a role model and someone I look up to because of his kindness, loyalty and duty to provide and protect his family,” Korbin Sprowls, his son-in-law, wrote.

His friend Rachel Wallace wrote: “Losing Lam to deportation would be devastating to more than just his wife and children.”