Immigration enforcement officials on Wednesday released from federal custody a Hmong refugee from Michigan after he spent months in detention over a low-level conviction dating back more than two decades.

The release of Lue Yang of St. Johns from a detention center in Baldwin was confirmed by his lawyer, Nancy Xiong, and U.S. Rep. Tom Barrett, a Charlotte Republican who had pressed for Yang's release.

Yang, 47, was transferred Wednesday from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody in Baldwin to the agency's field office in Grand Rapids, where his family met him, Xiong said. He was on his way home to St. Johns as of late Wednesday afternoon, she said.

"Everyone was super happy," Xiong said.

Barrett, who left Washington to return to Michigan for the reunion, said in a statement

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