SEARAC Southeast Asian Organizations Respond to Vice President Harris’ Trip to Vietnam

For Instant Launch:
August 27, 2021

Media contact:
Elaine Sanchez Wilson, SEARAC
elaine@searac.org
202-601-2970

WASHINGTON, DC – Vice President Harris traveled to Vietnam this week to fulfill with Vietnamese authorities officers. Previous to her journey, SEARAC and the Southeast Asian Freedom Community inspired the Biden Administration to incorporate renegotiations of the US and Vietnam repatriation memorandum of understanding (MOU). Particularly, we’ve got requested the Administration to provoke conversations with the Vietnamese authorities to get rid of the Trump Administration’s 2020 settlement.

The Trump 2020 MOU places in place insurance policies to deport sure detachable pre-1995 Vietnamese refugees, ending over a decade of basic elimination protections for these communities. Our companions have indicated that these most definitely to be focused by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) are people who’re awaiting launched from prisons and jails. Moreover, ICE additionally typically seeks a journey doc when a pre-1995 Vietnamese immigrant with an outdated elimination order is arrested on new prison expenses and transferred to ICE custody once more. Our organizations are presently not conscious of any widespread efforts by ICE to focus on pre-1995 Vietnamese immigrants with outdated elimination orders who haven’t just lately re-entered ICE custody. 

“We’re inspired by Vice President Harris’ journey to Southeast Asia. In distinction to the earlier Administration’s strongarm method to diplomatic relationships, we welcome President Biden’s extra considerate efforts to have interaction with Southeast Asia,” stated Quyen Dinh, Govt Director of SEARAC. “We hope that by normalizing relationships with the area, this Administration can take the steps crucial to finish the 2020 repatriation MOU between the USA and Vietnam and respect these international locations’ needs to not settle for any extra detachable Southeast Asian refugees. SEARAC is dedicated to ending the deportations of Southeast Asian refugees and can proceed to work with the Administration to discover a answer for our communities.”