The traffic was wonderful (by comparison) rents were low, and people were friendlier

Early 2000, get a moto from Pencil to TK, 2000 riel

Fully-furnished room in St 222 villa, en-suite, cable TV, $45/month

CEOCambodiaNews wrote: Speaking at an event at Sunway Hotel on humanitarian issues surrounding the deportees, Kalvin Hang, 36, said returning to Cambodia was extremely difficult for him.

I'm sure the victims of the crimes committed in the US also found it very difficult... *rolls eyes* They should just tell their bros to get citizenship instead of doing little speeches at the Sunway.


As for them going to Prey Sa, in most cases they actually serve time in the US and are then deported. So technically speaking, they've served their time already and their debt to society has been repaid. The issue is most never bothered to apply for naturalisation, then they go ahead and commit crimes. Individually, both of these are bad ideas, but combined they make for an even worse idea that doesn't get much pity from me.

They're coming home!



"Cambodia is preparing to accept deportees from the US again, reversing course after more than a year of diplomatic back-and-forth, Interior Ministry spokesman Khieu Sopheak confirmed yesterday.

According to Sopheak, the Cambodian government “expects to receive a positive response” from the United States in return – specifically, the lifting of visa sanctions that were imposed on high-ranking Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials in August.

“We don’t want to break the relationship between the US and Cambodia,” Sopheak said. “We want to continue our cooperation.”""



http://m.phnompenhpost.com/national/gov ... -deportees

Government and US discuss repatriation of Cambodian inmates
22 November 2017
Cambodia has asked the United States to delay the deportation of some of its citizens convicted of crimes in the US due to serious sicknesses and to wait until they get treatment. The discussion took place in a meeting between Interior Minister Sar Kheng and US Ambassador to Cambodia William Heidt at the ministry yesterday.

Mr Heidt also asked about the process and results of interviewing Cambodians convicted of crimes who will be deported back to the kingdom, as well as raising the issue of Cambodians who arrived in the US after 1994.

“Cambodia asked to consider delaying the deportation of Cambodians who are seriously sick, and wait for them to get treatment,” Mr Kheng said in the meeting, according to the ministry spokesman.
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/5091732/gov ... n-inmates/

More than 70 deportees from US expected this month
6 December 2017
More than 70 Cambodians are set to be deported to the Kingdom by the United States by the end of the month, Cambodia’s immigration department confirmed today, as Prime Minister HE said he welcomed the “brothers and sisters” home.

In a speech to more than 15,000 garment factory workers in Phnom Penh, the premier said the country is upholding the repatriation agreement it signed with the US in 2002.
“We have an agreement with the US and we need to follow it,” HE said. “For us, we thought about humanitarian issues and human rights, but we have not changed anything to not follow the agreement.”

Ministry of Interior immigration head Sok Phal said an estimated 72 people are in the process of being deported but said he did not know when they would be arriving.

Bill Herod, head of the Phnom Penh-based Returnee Integration Support Center, said the group will be the largest the NGO has ever received and is expected to land by the end of the month...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/m ... cted-month

What a sad Christmas those deportees will spend with their families this year.

taabarang wrote: ↑Wed Dec 06, 2017 6:28 pm What a sad Christmas those deportees will spend with their families this year.

No family Christmas for many of them according to this:

10 December 2017
- Advocates, families and experts said that some Cambodians currently detained have received notification from immigration officials that flights have been scheduled to Cambodia, and required travel documents may already have been issued by the Cambodian government or are in the works.

“It does sound like travel documents are coming,” said attorney Kevin Lo of Americans Advancing Justice – Asian Law Caucus, part of a legal team that filed a federal class action lawsuit on behalf of detained Cambodians. “I think the possibility of it happening in the next couple of weeks is high.”

Cooper said her contacts have told her the first group of Cambodian detainees may leave on Dec. 20, though there is no official list of those who may be on that plane.

The Washington, D.C.-based Southeast Asia Resource Action Center announced this week that sources in the Cambodian government have verbally confirmed that four batches of 50 Cambodians will be deported in the coming months, with the first 50 scheduled before Christmas, said Immigration Policy Manager Katrina Dizon Mariategue...
http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/article188885114.html

Expecting 'largest groups' of U.S. deportees ever, Cambodian aid org expands services
by Agnes Constante / Dec.15.2017

A Cambodia-based nongovernmental organization that aids deported Cambodian Americans is preparing to accommodate an influx of new deportees expected in the coming weeks.

Bill Herod, an adviser to the Returnee Integration Support Center (RISC) headquartered in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, said the group has been informed by U.S. and Cambodia government officials to expect new arrivals in the “near future.”

“In the next few weeks, we expect to receive more than 70 individuals in the two largest groups we have ever encountered,” Herod said in an email. “This will dramatically strain, if not completely overwhelm, our ability to provide appropriate and urgently needed services.”

RISC helps deportees find housing, acquire legal documentation and provides care to those with long-term special needs. It has helped more than 100 individuals secure jobs as English teachers, tour guides, interpreters, security guards, and taxi drivers. Some have established small businesses, such as restaurants.

To accommodate the new deportees, RISC has rented additional space to provide transitional housing, Herod said. It has also secured financial support from the United States Agency for International Development and is calling in former staff, some of whom are former RISC clients, to work with the incoming groups...
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-amer ... rg-n829751

CEOCambodiaNews wrote: ↑Fri Dec 15, 2017 7:26 am Expecting 'largest groups' of U.S. deportees ever, Cambodian aid org expands services
by Agnes Constante / Dec.15.2017

A Cambodia-based nongovernmental organization that aids deported Cambodian Americans is preparing to accommodate an influx of new deportees expected in the coming weeks.

Bill Herod, an adviser to the Returnee Integration Support Center (RISC) headquartered in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, said the group has been informed by U.S. and Cambodia government officials to expect new arrivals in the “near future.”

“In the next few weeks, we expect to receive more than 70 individuals in the two largest groups we have ever encountered,” Herod said in an email. “This will dramatically strain, if not completely overwhelm, our ability to provide appropriate and urgently needed services.”

RISC helps deportees find housing, acquire legal documentation and provides care to those with long-term special needs. It has helped more than 100 individuals secure jobs as English teachers, tour guides, interpreters, security guards, and taxi drivers. Some have established small businesses, such as restaurants.

To accommodate the new deportees, RISC has rented additional space to provide transitional housing, Herod said. It has also secured financial support from the United States Agency for International Development and is calling in former staff, some of whom are former RISC clients, to work with the incoming groups...
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-amer ... rg-n829751

It's good to see some are going to get help when they arrive here. They have done their time for their crime and should be given a second chance. Always remembering that as one door closes, another door opens offering a chance to a whole new world of opportunities.

Judge’s order pauses deportations of Cambodian nationals, including Long Beach man
15 December 2107
A judge this week blocked the federal government from proceeding with its efforts to deport a Long Beach man and others back to Cambodia.

U.S. District Court Judge Cormac Carney handed down the order Thursday. “Given the speed with which the Government intends to remove petitioners, the court finds that a temporary restraining order is necessary to stay removal until the court can give proper consideration to the complex issues presented in this action,” Cormac wrote in his decision granting a temporary restraining order in the case.

Kevin Lo, a staff attorney for Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Asian Law Caucus, a civil rights group involved in the case, said attorneys are also seeking clarification on questions related to when ICE officers can take an individual into custody. Such questions should include whether ICE should hold someone before obtaining paperwork making clear that another country will accept someone for deportation, or whether it makes sense to detain someone who has a record of voluntarily checking in with authorities.

“A bigger part of our claim actually relates to what standards ICE should be held to,” Lo said.
Attorneys representing Chhoeun, another named petitioner from Modesto, and a proposed class of Cambodian nationals that may number some 1,900 people have contended that the government must release detainees subject to deportation proceedings before a six-month period runs out if repatriation is not reasonably foreseeable...
http://www.presstelegram.com/2017/12/15 ... beach-man/