U.S. Deportee Says He Turned His Life Around After 29 Years in Prison

By Awan Achiek

A Laos national who spent 29 years incarcerated in the United States has reflected on his past, saying his experience in prison taught him important lessons and helped him turn his life around.

Thongxay Nilakout is among the foreign nationals deported to South Sudan in July 2025 by the Trump administration under its controversial third-country deportation program.

Addressing press during his repatriation on Thursday at Juba International Airport, Thongxay Nilakout, U.S deportee said he lived in the United States between 1980 and 1984, when he committed a serious crime that resulted in his incarceration.

“Well, I was in the U.S. from 1980 to 1984. That’s when I committed my crime and got incarcerated. And my crime was pretty serious,” Nilakout said.

“So, I spent 29 years being incarcerated in the U.S. And as far as, you know, President Donald Trump, I think he’s just trying to make his country run smoothly.”

He said he accepts full responsibility for his actions and acknowledged that he should not have committed the crime.

“You know; I take responsibility for my own action. I could, I should have never, you know, committed crime. And, you know, and knowing that it was wrong. But I did it anyway.”

He said he served his sentence and learned from the experience, describing himself as a changed man.

“I got incarcerated, paid for it. And now, you know, I learned from it. And, you know, I’m a changed man now,” he said.

He said the experience gave him an opportunity to understand the consequences of his actions and take responsibility for his past.

“So, you know, I mean, I just have to take responsibility for my own action and try to make things better. You know, not just only for myself, but for society in general.”

For her part, Amb. Apuk Ayuel Mayen, Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the repatriation was completed in coordination with the he government of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic following diplomatic consultations.

“He is departing today, the 8th of October 2026, to return to the Lao People’s Democratic Republic. His repatriation process was part of a cooperation between the government of the Republic of South Sudan and the government of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic,” Mayen said.

She said the two sides have worked closely through their respective diplomatic channels and relevant authorities to finalize arrangements for his return.

Mayen said the process was handled in accordance with applicable international law and established diplomatic procedures.

“As part of the arrangements for his return, the Lao government has provided a formal guarantee concerning his treatment upon arrival, including respect for applicable international human rights obligations,” she said.

“The objectives on both sides is to ensure that the transfer was orderly, safe and handled with due regard to his individual rights. Currently, we have five other third country national deputies.”

She said South Sudan has so far repatriated two deportees, Jesus Munoz-Gutierrez, Mexican national in September 2025 and 44-year-old Tuan Phan, Vietnamese national in June 2026.

She said the country is now left with two Myanmar nationals and two Cuban nationals, adding that plans are underway to repatriate them to their respective home countries.

“Our objective is to facilitate appropriate arrangements for their safe and humane repatriation to their respective countries of origin. So this here, this repatriation, I think is a successful story.”

Nilakout and seven other men were sent to Africa in May 2025, rerouted first to a U.S. military base in Djibouti after a federal judge blocked their deportation to South Sudan midflight, citing procedural irregularities.

They arrived in Juba, South Sudan’s capital, aboard a military aircraft in July 2025 after a Supreme Court ruling greenlit their removal.

The eight men all have criminal convictions in the U.S. but had served their prison sentences when they were taken into custody last year.