Community protests Trump moves to deport Vietnamese refugees

Vietnamese immigrants and other supporters of immigration rights rallied at Hing Hay Park on Friday against the Trump administration’s moves to deport Vietnamese refugees who have had protection from deportation.

Until 2008, Vietnam was not allowing deported refugees to return. And in 2008, the United States and Vietnam signed a Repatriation Agreement that barred the deportation of Vietnamese refugees who arrived in the United States before July 12, 1995 — the date that the two countries revived diplomatic relations.

But the Trump administration now says that the protection against deportation does not apply to those with criminal convictions. The agreement also expires this month.

According to the New York Times, about 7,000 Vietnamese refugees have removal orders.

According to rally organizers, supporters urge the U.S. Government to MAINTAIN the Repatriation Agreement and protect Vietnamese refugees.

The event included speeches by elected officials, community members and supporters, including those from the Cambodian community, which has also seen a rising number of deportations in recent years.

Sharon H Chang

Sharon H Chang is a writer activist who focuses on racism, social justice and the Asian American diaspora with a feminist lens. She is author of the well-received 2015 book Raising Mixed Race: Multiracial Asian Children In a Post-Racial World. Her pieces have been featured in BuzzFeed, ThinkProgress, Hyphen Magazine, ParentMap Magazine, AAPI Voices and International Examiner. She also serves as a consultant for Families of Color Seattle and is on the planning committee for the Critical Mixed Race Studies Conference.