Gov. Bob Ferguson has denied a pardon for Tuan Thanh Phan, a Vietnamese refugee and longtime Washington resident, just as the U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for deportations to South Sudan—a war-torn country where Phan has never lived and fears for his life.

On Thursday, the court’s conservative majority ruled that federal immigration officials can deport people to third countries without allowing them to contest the removal in court, even if they risk torture or death. The decision allows a previously detoured deportation flight to South Sudan to proceed and rendered lower court orders blocking the transfer “unenforceable.”

Phan, one of eight men on that flight, has been held at a U.S. naval base in Djibouti since May, confined to a converted shipping container. His attorneys say he faces “perilous conditions” and potential indefinite detention if deported to South Sudan.

Ferguson’s office acknowledged those humanitarian concerns in its July 3 letter denying clemency, noting Phan’s detention in Djibouti and the Level 4 State Department travel advisory for South Sudan. Ferguson agreed Phan should be returned to Vietnam—not South Sudan—and said his office had contacted Washington’s congressional delegation to help facilitate that outcome.

Still, Ferguson declined to issue a full and unconditional pardon that would allow Phan to remain in the U.S., citing Phan’s criminal history and record of prison infractions.

Phan completed a 25-year sentence earlier this year for a 2000 shooting in Tacoma that killed one teenager and injured another. The Clemency and Pardons Board had already rejected Phan’s request for a hearing. Without a Board recommendation, Ferguson said he could not act.

“Mr. Phan was convicted of very serious crimes—killing one innocent teenage victim and injuring another when he fired a gun multiple times into a crowded area,” the governor’s letter states. It continued, “While incarcerated, Mr. Phan committed ten infractions that the Department of Corrections designates as “serious,” several of which were violent. These included a serious infraction in 2023 for strongarming/intimidation and a serious infraction in 2018 for possessing drugs with the intent to sell/distribute.”

The letter stated that Ferguson received input from the family of the murder victim, who strongly oppose a pardon.

Advocates, including Phan’s wife Ngoc Phan and lawyer Angélica Cházaro, say Phan has served his sentence, shown remorse, and deserves a second chance.

Ngoc Phan said her husband acted in self-defense in the 2000 incident, after being assaulted.

Screenshot of Ngoc Phan in video appeal to Gov. Bob Ferguson

“He did not act out of evil or malice,” she said in a video plea this week to Ferguson. “A pardon does not take away Tuan’s accountability. But it will save Tuan from being disappeared by this lawless administration.”