For Immediate Release
December 20, 2018
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Linda Her
Executive Director, AAOP
Just weeks before the holidays, the Trump administration has ramped up its cruel efforts to separate Southeast Asian families. On Monday, December 17th, between 35-40 Cambodian Americans were deported and torn away from their communities. That same Monday, the US Department of Homeland Security met with Vietnamese officials to renegotiate Vietnam’s repatriation agreement – which could leave thousands of Vietnamese refugees vulnerable to deportation.
This injustice prompted outrage both at a national level and a local level. Release MN8 (RMN8), a local organization of 8 Cambodian families whose loved ones were detained in 2016, held a community listening session and a press conference today, December 20, 2018, calling on leaders to condemn the deportation of Southeast Asians. Jenny Srey, the Executive Director of RMN8: “The recent aggressive movement toward separating Vietnamese American families and deportation of more Cambodian Americans must be challenged and condemned by our state and federal officials. We recognize these policies as an attack on all Southeast Asian and refugee communities in the US.”
“The recent aggressive movement toward separating Vietnamese American families and deportation of more Cambodian Americans must be challenged and condemned by our state and federal officials. “
Many members of the Southeast Asian community who have been impacted by deportation are refugees from the aftermath of US-backed aggression. Minnesota alone is home to more than 100,000 Southeast Asian refugees. As young Asian Minnesotans, many of whom are children of refugees of the US War in Vietnam, and the Secret War in Laos, the Asian American Organizing Project (AAOP) condemns the Trump administration’s inhumane policies and actions. We stand in solidarity and power with our Southeast Asian community.
“[W]e must hold accountable this Administration and our Elected leaders, to put an end to the unjust criminalization and deportation of our Cambodian, Vietnamese, and our Southeast Asian families and communities.”
Linda Her, the Executive Director of AAOP, issued the following statement: “Our Elected leaders cannot forget the past 40 years of US interest and politics in Southeast Asia, and the aftermath of US war inflicted displacement and trauma on Southeast Asian refugees. As young Southeast Asian voters and community members, we should make it our civic duty to participate in our US democracy. We cannot let our government forget about the past, because presently, our communities are still dealing with political decisions made for us without us. As Southeast Asian and Asian Americans, we make up 4% of Minnesota’s Electorate. We have and hold voting power to impact Elections and US policies. Therefore, we must hold accountable this Administration and our Elected leaders, to put an end to the unjust criminalization and deportation of our Cambodian, Vietnamese, and our Southeast Asian families and communities.”
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If you or your family member are facing deportation orders in Minnesota, we encourage you to seek legal help immediately. Visit the legal resources below:
- Mai Neng Moua Law Office
Attorney Mai Neng Moua
612-808-9800
- Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota
1-800-233-1368
Download a PDF copy of our Press Release.