IV 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. RES. 952 

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives to recognize the resettlement of Southeast Asian refugees, commemorate the contributions of 

Southeast Asian Americans to the United States, urge the President 

to halt the deportation of Southeast Asian refugees, and advance equitable policies for Southeast-Asian-American communities. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 5, 2020 

Mr. LOWENTHAL (for himself, Mr. SMITH of Washington, Mr. ROUDA, Mr. 

VARGAS, Mr. BERA, Mr. MCNERNEY, Mr. CORREA, Ms. SPEIER, Mr. 

CISNEROS, Ms. PRESSLEY, Mr. COX of California, Ms. NORTON, and 

Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN) submitted the following resolution; which was 

referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives to 

recognize the resettlement of Southeast Asian refugees, 

commemorate the contributions of Southeast Asian 

Americans to the United States, urge the President to 

halt the deportation of Southeast Asian refugees, and 

advance equitable policies for Southeast-Asian-American 

communities. 

Whereas April 17, 2020, marks the 45th year since the 

Khmer Rouge began its devastating reign in Cambodia, 

April 30, 2020, marks the 45th anniversary of the fall of 

Saigon, December 2, 2020, marks the 45th year since the 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
2 

•HRES 952 IH 

abolition of the Lao monarchy, and May 1, 2020, marks 

the 45th year since the Hmong, Lao, and other Lao ethnic minorities from Laos began their evacuation from 

Laos; 

Whereas 2020 commemorates the 45th year of the beginning 

of the resettlement of Southeast Asian refugees to the 

United States; 

Whereas Southeast Asian Americans comprise more than 

3,000,000 individuals in the United States and include 

the Cham, Hmong, Khmer, Khmer Kampuchea Krom, 

Khmer Loeu, Khmu, Lahu, Lao, Iu Mien, Montagnards, 

Phutai, Pnong, Tai Dam, Tai Deng, Tai Lue, and Vietnamese; 

Whereas the United States intervened in Cambodia, Laos, 

and Vietnam to prevent the spread of communism in 

Southeast Asia through direct military interventions and 

covert and clandestine operations; 

Whereas the Vietnamese from South Vietnam allied with the 

United States in opposition to the expansion of North 

Vietnam until the fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975, and 

many Vietnamese still suffer lasting trauma from the 

war, including exposure to Agent Orange and post-traumatic stress disorder; 

Whereas the Central Intelligence Agency and various different agencies enlisted the Hmong, Lao, and Laotian 

ethnic groups in Laos as allies to aid United States 

forces in Southeast Asia, waging a 13-year covert operation called the ‘‘Secret Wars’’ against the Pathet Lao, 

Viet Cong, and Northern Vietnamese Army; 

Whereas the United States heavily bombed Laos, leaving the 

country as the most heavily bombed country in the world, 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
3 

•HRES 952 IH 

with over 580,000 bombing missions between 1964 and 

1973; 

Whereas Cambodians assisted United States forces during 

American operations in Cambodia, including Operation 

Menu; 

Whereas the United States dropped 540,000 tons of bombs 

into Cambodia between 1969 and 1973 against Viet Cong 

forces located in Cambodia, destabilizing a fragile government, resulting in the rise of the Khmer Rouge, and leading to the genocide of an estimated 2,000,000 Cambodians; 

Whereas the United States dispersed over 13,000,000 gallons 

of Agent Orange in Vietnam, 475,000 gallons in Laos, 

and 40,900 in Cambodia during this era, with many 

Southeast Asians still impacted by the effects of this 

toxin; 

Whereas over 3,000,000 individuals were displaced by war, 

conflict, and genocide from Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam; 

Whereas between 1975 to the mid-2000s, the United States 

accepted over 1,200,000 Southeast Asians escaping the 

Vietnam war, persecution in Laos, and Khmer Rouge 

genocide in Cambodia; 

Whereas the resettlement of Southeast Asian refugees in the 

United States typically placed many individuals and families in communities with inadequate financial, long-term 

resettlement support and many of these individuals and 

their children languished in severe poverty; 

Whereas many Southeast Asian refugees have thrived and 

contributed greatly to the economic, educational, military, 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
4 

•HRES 952 IH 

political, and social culture of the United States since 

their resettlement; 

Whereas despite the success of many Southeast Asian Americans, many still face economic, educational, and linguistic 

barriers in the United States, in particular, a significant 

percentage of Cambodian, Hmong, Lao, Vietnamese, and 

other Southeast Asian Americans endure severe poverty, 

lack of English proficiency, educational barriers, and 

unique health disparities as survivors of war and genocide; 

Whereas the War on Poverty, including the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, decreased resources for low-income, refugee, and immigrant 

communities to transform from generational poverty; 

Whereas, as survivors of war and genocide, Southeast Asian 

Americans still face disparate health outcomes, including 

higher rates of physical, mental, and chronic health challenges, including over 60 percent of Cambodians and a 

significant number of other Southeast Asian Americans 

who continue to experience post-traumatic stress disorder; 

Whereas, as children of the survivors of war and genocide, 

first and second generation Southeast Asian Americans 

have intergenerational, compounded trauma that has created poor mental health conditions and education barriers; 

Whereas the War on Drugs, Violent Crime Control and Law 

Enforcement Act, expansion of the incarceration system, 

and over policing of low-income refugee communities resulted in a significant number of Southeast Asian AmeriVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:25 May 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR952.IH HR952

pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
5 

•HRES 952 IH 

cans coming into contact with the criminal justice system; 

Whereas the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 expanded the definition of what 

type of crime could result in deportation and limited due 

process protections for immigrants, refugees, and other 

noncitizens; the Act also allowed the expanded definition 

to be applied retroactively without proper consideration of 

an individual’s lived circumstances; 

Whereas more than 15,000 Southeast Asian Americans, 

many of whom were refugees, live in the United States 

with a final order of removal and over 2,000 have been 

deported since 1998; 

Whereas many Southeast Asian Americans with a final order 

of removal are United States residents who are more 

than 10 years removed from the time of their criminal 

convictions and have moved on to become pillars of their 

communities, homeowners, fathers, mothers, caregivers, 

and tenured employees; 

Whereas the Trump administration’s approach to deportation 

breaks up families and, in some cases, the deportees have 

never lived in their country of origin, do not speak the 

language of their country of origin, or do not have a living relative in their country of origin; 

Whereas, in December 2018, a total of 55 members of the 

House of Representatives and 13 Senators signed onto 

two separate letters by Representatives Judy Chu and 

Pramila Jayapal and Senators Mazie Hirono and Kamala 

Harris to the President, the Department of Homeland 

Security, and the Department of State urging fiscal reVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:25 May 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR952.IH HR952

pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
6 

•HRES 952 IH 

straint in the deportation of Southeast Asian Americans; 

and 

Whereas, in December 2018, an additional 22 members of 

the House of Representatives signed onto a letter to the 

Department of Homeland Security opposing renegotiations of the bilateral United States and Vietnam memorandum of understanding that would strip deportation 

protections from Vietnamese Americans who arrived in 

the United States before July 12, 1995, from deportation: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) commemorates the 45 years since Southeast 

3 Asian refugees began resettling in the United States; 

4 (2) honors the sacrifices made by Southeast5 Asian-American communities on behalf of the United 

6 States; 

7 (3) recognizes the contributions of Southeast 

8 Asian Americans to the economic, educational, mili9 tary, political, and social culture of the United 

10 States; 

11 (4) opposes the deportation of Southeast Asian 

12 Americans who resettled to the United States as ref13 ugees from Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam; 

14 (5) urges that President Trump and his admin15 istration place an immediate moratorium on the de16 portation of thousands of Southeast Asian Ameri17 cans whose crimes occurred more than 10 years ago 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
7 

•HRES 952 IH 

1 because the House of Representatives honors these 

2 individuals as they hold fast to American values of 

3 rehabilitation and the need for second chances; 

4 (6) continues to pursue comprehensive policies 

5 that ensure equity and justice for Southeast-Asian6 American communities, including in education and 

7 health; and 

8 (7) honors the United States responsibility to 

9 refugees, immigrants, and naturalized United States 

10 citizens in this community. 

Æ 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS