After years of legal proceedings, criminal alien Bou Khathavong was finally deported from the U.S and sent back to Laos on Sept. 2.
Khathavong’s story involves lengthy court battles to remove the non-citizen criminals from the country. Oftentimes, the court order is not enforced, or the criminals don’t attend scheduled hearings.
Khathavong was listed as “Worst of the Worst” among ICE’s Most Wanted. Khathavong remained in the U.S. for 30 years, despite a criminal conviction for conspiracy related to a brutal murder that shocked the Philadelphia community.
He was convicted in connection to the 1994 mob-style murder of Philadelphia high school student Eddie Polec. A group of teenagers savagely beat Polec with a baseball bat on the steps of a church in Philadelphia and left him for dead.
The Trump administration helped expedite Khathavong’s removal from the country following his arrest on July 25 by Philadelphia’s U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. ICE’s Enforcement Removal Operations assisted with his deportation, according to a news release.
“We sincerely hope that the removal of Bou Khathavong can finally help the family of Eddie Polec and the city of Philadelphia heal from one of the most horrifying crimes in Philadelphia’s history,” said ICE ERO Philadelphia acting Field Office Director David O’Neill. “ICE is working daily to safeguard the American public and bring justice for the families of those who are harmed by illegal aliens.”
Based on records from ICE, Khathavong legally entered the United States from Laos on June 23, 1980.
On Nov. 11, 1994, Khathavong was arrested by the Philadelphia Police Department for his role in the brutal murder of Polec, 16, who tried to run from the mob of suburban teenagers in the Fox Chase neighborhood of Philadelphia.
The reportedly “boyish rumble gone wrong” turned into a brutal bludgeoning that jolted the Northeast Philadelphia neighborhood and made national headlines.
Khathavong was among a group of six young men involved in the planning and eventual beating death of Polec.
A Washington Post report on the convictions in Eddie Polec’s murder from Feb. 6, 1996, said “Khathavong was identified as the organizer of the attack,” according to social media shares by Philadelphia FOX 29 reporter Steve Keeley.
3/ Washington Post report on the convictions in Eddie Polec’s murder from February 6th, 1996. “Khathavong was identified as the organizer of the attack.” pic.twitter.com/J4JiKEp44U
— Steve Keeley (@KeeleyFox29) July 31, 2025
Teenagers from a rival high school wanted to avenge insults and get even for a reported assault on a girl from their community. According to Border Hawk on X, Polec was beaten to death by a mob of “non-white teens wielding bats and hockey sticks.”
Laotian illegal alien Bou Khathavong finally deported after conviction for murder of Eddie Polec
Polec, a 16-year-old altar boy, was beaten to death by a mob of non-white teens wielding bats and hockey sticks on the steps of St. Cecilia's Church in Philadelphia in 1994 pic.twitter.com/NdE2norA6y
— Border Hawk (@BorderHawkNews) October 29, 2025
The alleged leader of the attack, Keith Convey, took a plea deal and testified against his six buddies, ages 17-20 at the time, according to an Associated Press article from Jan. 4, 1996.
Khathavong was charged with two counts of murder, possession of an instrument of crime and criminal conspiracy. He was acquitted of homicide charges but convicted of conspiracy to commit murder, according to a 1996 New York Times article.
Other news reports at the time recounted how Polec was beaten with baseball bats and other weapons while lying defenseless on the steps of a church.
Polec, who had been an altar boy at St. Cecilia’s Church, tried to escape and ran to the church. Despite pleas for help, the group continued the assault and two of them targeted his head. News reports said Polec had seven skull fractures.
Polec died the next day. The victim’s father vowed to seek vengeance in the afterlife.
“When I die, I want to be the first spirit you meet in the next world,” said the father, John Polec in a March 20, 1996 article by The Times.
Upon his conviction on March 19, 1996, Khathavong was sentenced to a minimum of five years and a maximum of 10 years in prison.
After that, according to ICE records, a deportation order was never enforced.
On Feb. 14, 1996, the former Immigration and Naturalization Service lodged an immigration detainer against Khathavong at the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility in Philadelphia, according to ICE.
On Sept. 1, 1998, INS served him with a notice to appear before an immigration judge, charging him as an aggravated felon under Section 237 of the Immigration and Nationality Act.
On Dec. 7, 2004, an immigration judge in York ordered Khathavong removed from the U.S. to Laos. Khathavong was released on an order of supervision in 2005.
After years of legal hurdles, ICE ERO Philadelphia successfully removed the dangerous criminal alien from the U.S.
“Khathavong’s removal marks the culmination of efforts by ERO Philadelphia and ICE’s Removal Management Division to enforce the immigration laws of the U.S. and ensure public safety,” ICE said in a statement.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security shared his initial arrest on social media, adding that ICE has the full support of President Donald Trump and Secretary Kristi Noem “to remove the worst of the worst violent criminal illegal aliens like Bou Khathavong, a dual citizen of Laos and Thailand, who was convicted of conspiracy to murder a teenager with a BASEBALL BAT in Pennsylvania.”
.@ICEgov has the full support of President Trump and @Sec_Noem to remove the worst of the worst violent criminal illegal aliens like Bou Khathavong, a dual citizen of Laos and Thailand, who was convicted of conspiracy to murder a teenager with a BASEBALL BAT in in Pennnsylvania. pic.twitter.com/aU9eBK8AMp
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) July 30, 2025
