IV 
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. RES. 952 
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives to recognize the resettle-
ment 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 equi-
table 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 
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abolition of the Lao monarchy, and May 1, 2020, marks 
the 45th year since the Hmong, Lao, and other Lao eth-
nic 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 Viet-
namese; 
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-trau-
matic stress disorder; 
Whereas the Central Intelligence Agency and various dif-
ferent 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 oper-
ation 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, 
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political, and social culture of the United States since 
their resettlement; 
Whereas despite the success of many Southeast Asian Ameri-
cans, 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 geno-
cide; 
Whereas the War on Poverty, including the Personal Respon-
sibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, de-
creased 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 chal-
lenges, including over 60 percent of Cambodians and a 
significant number of other Southeast Asian Americans 
who continue to experience post-traumatic stress dis-
order; 
Whereas, as children of the survivors of war and genocide, 
first and second generation Southeast Asian Americans 
have intergenerational, compounded trauma that has cre-
ated poor mental health conditions and education bar-
riers; 
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 re-
sulted in a significant number of Southeast Asian Ameri-
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cans coming into contact with the criminal justice sys-
tem; 
Whereas the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Re-
sponsibility 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 liv-
ing 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 re-
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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 renegoti-
ations of the bilateral United States and Vietnam memo-
randum of understanding that would strip deportation 
protections from Vietnamese Americans who arrived in 
the United States before July 12, 1995, from deporta-
tion: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) commemorates the 45 years since Southeast 
Asian refugees began resettling in the United States; 
(2) honors the sacrifices made by Southeast- 
Asian-American communities on behalf of the United 
States; 
(3) recognizes the contributions of Southeast 
Asian Americans to the economic, educational, mili-
tary, political, and social culture of the United 
States; 
(4) opposes the deportation of Southeast Asian 
Americans who resettled to the United States as ref-
ugees from Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam; 
(5) urges that President Trump and his admin-
istration place an immediate moratorium on the de-
portation of thousands of Southeast Asian Ameri-
cans whose crimes occurred more than 10 years ago 
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because the House of Representatives honors these 
individuals as they hold fast to American values of 
rehabilitation and the need for second chances; 
(6) continues to pursue comprehensive policies 
that ensure equity and justice for Southeast-Asian- 
American communities, including in education and 
health; and 
(7) honors the United States responsibility to 
refugees, immigrants, and naturalized United States 
citizens in this community. 
Æ 
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