The Southeast Asian Deportation Relief Act would place limitations on the Department of Homeland Security’s authority to deport refugees from Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos.
Advocates hold banners and signs backing pardons for Southeast Asian refugees who face deportation at a rally in Sacramento, Calif., on Oct. 24, 2018.Lawmakers in Congress introduced a bill on Tuesday that aims to keep more Southeast Asian refugee families together, advocates say.
“In our system, a person can make a mistake. They can pay their debts to society and move on and build a new future. They should not be … deported to a society where they no longer belong and may not even remember,” Rep. Alan Lowenthal, D-Calif., said during a press conference at the House Triangle. “It is profoundly wrong for us to send refugees where their human rights are not protected and guaranteed.
“The fear and the trauma that comes with in-person check-ins means that you leave your home, you leave your family, you drop off your kids not knowing if you’re going to be detained,” Dinh said. “And from that moment, your family has to have a rapid response backup plan in case you are detained.” When it comes to refugees who have been entangled with the criminal justice system, their circumstances cannot be removed from their stories, Dinh said.