Eventually, Jerry says, he fell in with gangs. In 1997, he pleaded no contest to charges of armed robbery. He now says he did not commit the crime, but accepted the plea 18 months after his arrest at the urging of his public defenders and because he was tired of incarceration.
Today, Jerry says he has turned his life around -- dropping out of gang life and making A's and Bs in business classes at Long Beach City College.
In Min's case, his uncle Lon Nol left for the United States shortly before the Khmer Rouge takeover and resettled in Fullerton, where he died in 1985. From other Cambodian refugees, Min said he heard rumors that his Uncle Non, the military commander, had been beheaded. His parents and four sisters were also killed.
In 2001, Min was convicted after a government sting operation, along with two partners, for selling blood and stolen patient and doctor identification cards with the intent to defraud the Medi-Cal program. He was sentenced to 16 months in prison and was ordered to pay restitution to the state of $25,000.
Under the old rules, the crime would not have qualified him for deportation. But the 1996 law lowered the threshold for aggravated felonies involving fraud from $200,000 in losses to $10,000.
Min says he, too, has turned his life around -- he is now attending church and has sworn off alcohol. His attorney said he will argue in immigration court today that he should not be deported because of the likelihood of persecution in Cambodia.
"He comes from a very prominent family, and he may be subject to torture if he goes back," said his attorney, Roman P. Mosqueda. "The U.S. cannot deport anyone if there is evidence they will be tortured."
Vunyaung Tan, the Cambodian Embassy's political consular, denied charges of government torture and said that the 30 or so Cambodians deported so far have been well-treated in Cambodia. He said, however, that some are facing hardships in finding jobs, since they speak little Khmer and have no family to rely on. He urged the U.S. government to increase aid to help them resettle.
"These people understand English and are more skillful -- they can train our people in Cambodia," Tan said.
But such assurances do not persuade many Cambodians here.
"I served my time, paid the consequences and am trying to be a good citizen here," Min said. "We're afraid to go back, because we know if we do they'll kill us."
