Bhutanese Nepali refugee Aasis Subedi returns to the same Nepali refugee camp he spent when he was young, and is once again stateless.

Last month, Subedi from all over the United States and twenty community members from all over the United States were deported to Bhutan by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials, a Little Himalayan country they had never stepped on before. At least four, including Subedi, including the Bhutanese authorities, were then deported to India, where they fled to a refugee camp in Nepal.

"I have nothing now. They brought us to (Bhutan) without any documents," he said, in one of the three Beltangi refugee camps in southeast Nepal.

Subedi served his sentence before a third-degree felony offense committed by Columbus, Ohio, before he was taken on a plane and deported by New Jersey.

Subedi is one of more than 100,000 Bhutanese Nepali who fled ethnic cleansing and was stateless by the Bhutanese government, who deprived their civil rights in the 1980s. More than 90,000 have been relocated in the United States since 2008.

But the Trump administration has extended life for the community.

Robin Gurung of the Asian Refugee Federation said: “Bhutan is still returning to our community members.

Several of the deported people are believed to have disappeared in India.

Ice told Global News that Subedi was deported from the country “targeted law enforcement action.” A green card holder - Subedi is a legal permanent resident - is convicted of a serious crime, but can deport that person only after the opportunity to defend a case in court once the U.S. government shows "clear and compelling evidence." U.S. law prohibits deportation of individuals to countries where there are potential risks.

"Most of the people who are deported have served their time. For me, that's the matter of concern," Gulong said. "They have served their time, in the community, provided time for the family, the children, and now they're gone."

Thousands of Bhutanese Nepali settled in parts of Ohio and Pennsylvania, facing significant economic struggles and population losses due to the 2008 Great Recession. Now, about 8,000 Bhutanese Nepalis live in Renosburg, a city outside Columbus, accounting for one-fifth of the population.

Along the East Street along the main passage in the suburbs, Bhutanese Americans have opened more than 30 businesses, from hair salons to restaurants.

“Many communities work in facilities locally in Amazon and FedEx. These jobs are very attractive to people, and the schools in Reynoldsburg are great.” Bhuwan Pyakurel said he came to Reynoldsburg in 2016 and has since become the first elected official of the United States in Nepal-Nepal-Nepal-NY-Nepal-Nepal-Hut.

“Many businesses closed them before we came here () and restored them. Cricket is a big deal for the Bhutanese community.

Although the entire Sun Belt town has developed significantly in recent years, Ohio, Pennsylvania and beyond have struggled to preserve and attract residents.

As a result, immigration is helping local economy develop, creating tax bases for urban authorities and adding vitality to an area that strives to get rid of its rust belt past. Next door to Pennsylvania, about 40,000 Bhutanese Nepali live in the cities of Harrisburg and Lancaster. Harrisburg has lost nearly half of its population since 1950, although the decline has stopped in recent years.

But now, fear of fear has put immigrant communities across the country in trouble.

Pyakurel, who was elected as the Reynoldsburg City Council in 2019, has lived in a refugee camp in Nepal for 18 years and said he is now calling five to 10 calls a day in the worrying local Nepal residents in Bhutan, Nepal, and many are asking for guidance.

"People want to know if they should apply for citizenship or wait for three years, whether certain documents should be renewed," he said. Last month, Palestine green card holder and Columbia student Mohsen Mahdawi was detained in a naturalization interview and issued an expulsion procedure against him. On April 30, Mahdawi was released.

“I always carry my passport with me these days,” Pyakurel said. “Even if I am a representative here (city council) I don’t think of many ice officials.”

Subedi came to the United States through the government refugee relocation program in July 2016 and has lived and worked in Pennsylvania until her arrest in Columbus last July.

Now 7,700 miles from home, he had nothing to do and could only sit in a refugee camp all day, living in a bamboo cottage--there was the first two years of his life where his father still lived. His arrival from the United States and three others caused a sensation at the camp, which attracted the attention of Nepalese police, who investigated his legal status and detained him for weeks.

This month, his daughter was three years old. He said his family had no money to help him in the camp, partly because his wife stopped working when the child was born.

He said he didn't know if he could return to the United States.

"I want to come back. I have family, my children," Subedi said.

“This is the second time we have become a refugee.”