I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 5471 

To halt removal of certain nationals of Vietnam, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 14, 2023 

Mr. CORREA (for himself and Mrs. STEEL) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To halt removal of certain nationals of Vietnam, and for 

other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Honor Our Commit5 ment Act of 2023’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds as follows: 

8 (1) From April to September 1975, the United 

9 States conducted Operation New Arrival to relocate 

10 130,000 Vietnamese refugees to the United States 

11 following the end of the Vietnam War. During this 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
2 

•HR 5471 IH

1 time, more than 50,000 Vietnamese refugees were 

2 processed through Camp Pendleton for resettlement 

3 in southern California. 

4 (2) In the 4 decades since they fled Vietnam as 

5 refugees, Vietnamese Americans have woven their 

6 stories into the American fabric. 

7 (3) The largest concentrations of Vietnamese 

8 Americans can be found in Orange County, Cali9 fornia, followed by San Jose (California), Houston 

10 (Texas), Seattle (Washington), Northern Virginia, 

11 and New Orleans (Louisiana). 

12 (4) According to the American Community Sur13 vey, 1.4 million Americans speak Vietnamese at 

14 home, the fourth-most-common language other than 

15 English. 

16 (5) Immigrants may find it difficult to assimi17 late into their new communities as a result of the 

18 trauma of war. A 2018 study published by Rashmi 

19 Gangamma and Daran Shipman in the Journal of 

20 Marital and Family Therapy noted that ‘‘the trau21 matic nature of (an immigrant’s) forced displace22 ment flight, and resettlement can increase vulner23 ability to mental distress.’’ First generation immi24 grant children are especially vulnerable to gang vioVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:00 Sep 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5471.IH H5471

kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
3 

•HR 5471 IH

1 lence when their parents find it difficult to navigate 

2 their new communities culturally and politically. 

3 (6) In 2008, the United States and Vietnam 

4 signed a bilateral repatriation agreement, hereinafter 

5 known as the 2008 Vietnam-U.S. Memorandum of 

6 Understanding (MOU). 

7 (7) According to section 2, article 2 of the 2008 

8 Vietnam-U.S. MOU, ‘‘Vietnamese citizens are not 

9 subject to return to Vietnam under this Agreement 

10 if they arrived in the United States before July 12, 

11 1995, the date on which diplomatic relations were 

12 re-established between the U.S. Government and the 

13 Vietnamese Government. The U.S. Government and 

14 the Vietnamese Government maintain their respec15 tive legal positions relative to Vietnamese citizens 

16 who departed Vietnam for the United States prior to 

17 that date.’’. 

18 (8) Under President George Bush and Presi19 dent Barack Obama, the United States recognized 

20 the 2008 Vietnam-U.S. MOU’s protections and re21 frained from deporting pre-1995 Vietnamese refu22 gees. 

23 (9) In November 2020, President Donald 

24 Trump’s Administration signed a new agreement 

25 with Vietnam which allows for the deportation of ViVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:04 Sep 19, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5471.IH H5471

kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
4 

•HR 5471 IH

1 etnamese refugees who arrived in the United States 

2 prior to July 12, 1995. This includes lawful perma3 nent residents who have committed certain minor 

4 crimes and others who came to the United States as 

5 children after the Vietnam War. 

6 SEC. 3. LIMITATION ON THE DETENTION AND REMOVAL OF 

7 NATIONALS OF VIETNAM. 

8 (a) LIMITATION ON DETENTION AND REMOVAL.— 

9 Except as provided in subsection (b), an alien may not 

10 be detained or removed from the United States on or after 

11 the date of enactment of this Act if the alien— 

12 (1) is a national of Vietnam; 

13 (2) entered the United States on or before July 

14 12, 1995 and has continuously resided in the United 

15 States since such entry; and 

16 (3) is subject to a final order of removal. 

17 (b) EXCEPTION.—Subsection (a) shall not apply to 

18 an alien if— 

19 (1) the Secretary of Homeland Security deter20 mines, based on credible facts, that the alien is di21 rectly responsible for harming the security of the 

22 United States; or 

23 (2) the alien is subject to extradition. 

24 (c) EMPLOYMENT AUTHORIZATION.—The Secretary 

25 of Homeland Security shall authorize an alien described 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
5 

•HR 5471 IH

1 in subsection (a) to engage in employment in the United 

2 States and provide such alien with an ‘‘employment au3 thorized’’ endorsement or other appropriate work permit. 

4 SEC. 4. NOTICE FOR CERTAIN VIETNAMESE NATIONALS 

5 WITH REMOVAL ORDERS. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after the 

7 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland 

8 Security shall provide notice of the provisions of this Act 

9 to each alien described in section 3(a). 

10 (b) CONTENTS OF NOTICE.—The notice described in 

11 subsection (a) shall include information explaining the re12 quirements and instructions for filing a motion to reopen 

13 removal proceedings under section 240(c)(7) of the Immi14 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1229a(c)(7)). 

15 SEC. 5. JUDICIAL REVIEW. 

16 (a) REVIEW.—Notwithstanding any other provision 

17 of law, an individual or entity who has been harmed by 

18 a violation of this Act may file an action in an appropriate 

19 district court of the United States to seek declaratory or 

20 injunctive relief. 

21 (b) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this Act 

22 may be construed to preclude an action filed pursuant to 

23 subsection (a) from proceeding as a class action (as such 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
6 

•HR 5471 IH

1 term is defined in section 1711 of title 28, United States 

2 Code). 

Æ 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB