Dozens of Democratic lawmakers and local officials across Washington State signed a letter urging Governor Bob Ferguson to grant clemency to Tuan Thanh Phan, a state prison inmate who completed a 25-year sentence for murder and assault with a firearm and is currently in federal custody pending deportation by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
NEW: WA Democrats signed a letter urging Gov Bob Ferguson to grant clemency to Tuan Thanh Phan, an illegal alien from Vietnam who just finished serving 25 years for murder & assault & is in federal custody pending ICE deportation.
In 1999 he was also charged with possession of a… pic.twitter.com/QeavGXFpmx
— Ari Hoffman 🎗 (@thehoffather) October 16, 2025
According to the Department of Corrections’ Clemency and Pardons Board case analysis, Phan was convicted in Pierce County of first-degree murder and second-degree assault with a firearm enhancement, and sentenced to 300 months (25 years) in prison in January 2001. He was released in March and transferred to ICE custody for deportation proceedings.
A June 23, 2025 letter to Governor Ferguson, co-signed by more than 50 state legislators, city councilmembers, and county officials, called on the governor to immediately pardon Phan. The signatories claimed that Phan’s life is “in peril at the hands of the Trump administration,” alleging that he is being detained by U.S. authorities and faces deportation to South Sudan—despite being a native of Vietnam. They describe deportation under current federal policy as “mass deportation” and “cruel,” urging Ferguson to “use the power of [his] office to speak out against the Trump administration’s agenda.”
The letter further asked Ferguson to end cooperation between the Washington Department of Corrections and ICE, and to take action alongside the Legislature to “protect immigrant and refugee communities.”
A companion statement signed by lawmakers repeats these requests, describing ICE actions as “inhumane” and claiming federal officers have conducted arrests at workplaces and schools. The signatories pledged to “stand with” Ferguson in resisting deportations and to attend protests or “show up at places where immigrants are vulnerable.”
The list of supporters includes over 40 state representatives and senators, among them House Majority Leader Joe Fitzgibbon, Sen. Yasmin Trudeau, Sen. Rebecca Saldaña, Rep. Liz Berry, Rep. My-Linh Thai, and Rep. Tarra Simmons, as well as King County Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda, Seattle City Councilmember Joy Hollingsworth, and Port of Seattle Commissioner Toshiko Hasegawa.
One notable signatory, State Senator Deborah Krishnadasan (D-26th District), is currently locked in a highly competitive re-election battle against Republican challenger Michelle Caldier in a key swing district that spans parts of Kitsap and Pierce Counties. Political observers suggest that Krishnadasan’s decision to attach her name to a clemency request for a convicted murderer could prove controversial among moderate and independent voters—potentially shifting the race’s momentum toward her opponent in one of the most closely watched legislative contests of the 2025 cycle.
His record shows incarceration across multiple state facilities since 2001, including Clallam Bay and Coyote Ridge Corrections Centers.
Earlier this year, Phan’s name appeared in a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) release titled “DHS Releases Documents Detailing Rap Sheets of 8 Criminal Illegal Aliens After Activist Judge Ruling Halts Their Deportation.” The May 23 statement outlined the criminal histories of eight foreign nationals whose deportations were delayed by a federal court order. DHS listed Phan among those offenders, citing his homicide conviction and the public safety risks associated with his release. The department said the cases demonstrate how judicial intervention has “prevented the removal of violent criminal aliens who pose a danger to U.S. communities.”
Alongside Phan, the DHS release identified seven other individuals with criminal convictions ranging from sexual assault, child abuse, and armed robbery to attempted murder. The list included offenders from Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Sudan, several of whom had served lengthy prison terms for violent crimes before being transferred to ICE custody. DHS officials said the group represented “a cross-section of the dangerous individuals immigration authorities are trying to remove,” warning that continued judicial and political interference in deportation cases “puts American communities at risk.”
