Stop the Deportation of Cambodian Refugees

Stand with Southeast Asian mothers and join the social media action on May 10.



Cambodian American community members are facing imminent deportation in the next months. A majority of those facing deportation are children of refugees whose families survived and fled the genocide in Cambodia. This is part of an ongoing attack by the Trump administration, with a record year of 100 Cambodian community members deported in 2018, and plans to 200 Cambodian Americans each year over the next several years.

Mothers, and women overall, have led incredible efforts and continue to be at the front lines fighting to reunite with their loved ones separated by ICE. You're invited to join a social media action on the Friday before Mother's Day -- May 10 from 11 am - 2 pm PST -- to stand with Southeast Asian mothers and urge California Governor Gavin Newsom to stop the deportations and #PardonRefugees.

Here's the basic information:

Cambodian and Vietnamese immigrants targeted for deportation

"We can't stay silent."


Kim Nak Chhoeun, 42, came to the U.S. as a refugee when he was 6 years old.
From the Los Angeles Times: Most associate Trump's rhetoric about deportations with Latinos, given his vows to build a border wall, his assertions that Mexican immigrants are "rapists" and drug dealers, and his decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program for immigrants brought to this country illegally as children, most of whom are Latino.

But immigration activists say the roundups of people of Cambodian and Vietnamese descent are unprecedented and have sparked anxiety in Asian immigrant communities.

"People may think it's just Latinos being threatened when it comes to deportations. But there are all sorts of immigrants affected, and we can't stay silent," said Laboni Hoq, litigation director for the Los Angeles chapter of the civil rights organization Asian Americans Advancing Justice.

"This is a political issue. The administration is cracking down to deliver on campaign promises, and they are going community by community to make their actions known."

More here: As more Cambodian and Vietnamese immigrants are targeted for deportation, advocates say they 'can't stay silent'

103-year-old woman becomes U.S. citizen

Hong Inh was the oldest among 10,000 new Americans at Tuesday's naturalization ceremony in Los Angeles.



This week, a 103-year-old woman from Cambodia joined thousands of flag-waving folks at the Los Angeles Convention Center to take the oath of allegiance and become our nation's newest Americans.

Hong Inh, who survived years of war and violence under the Khmer Rouge regime in the 1970s, came to the United States when she 97 years old to join a daughter and other relatives.

She was the oldest of more than 10,000 people at Tuesday's naturalization ceremony. She was joined by three generations of her family, from her 80-year-old daughter to her 13-year-old great-granddaughter.

More here: 103-Year-Old Woman from Cambodia Becomes U.S. Citizen

Rady Mom wins state representative seat in Massachusetts

Historic win makes him the first Cambodian American state legislator in the nation.



Some historic election news out of Massachusetts... On Tuesday in Lowell, Rady Mom was elected the city's newest state representative, and became the first Cambodian American state legislator in the nation.

Rady Mom makes history, becoming first Cambodian legislator by taking Lowell rep race

Mom, a 45-year-old accupressure therapist who moved to the United States from Cambodia at age 12, defeated Fred Bahou to claim the 18th Middlesex House District, winning more than 61 percent of the vote.

Mom received strong backing from Lowell's Cambodian American voters, and inspired community members to become more active in local politics:

Community rallies for victims of deadly apartment fire

Seven people -- including three young children -- killed in fatal blaze in Lowell, MA



This is a terrible story out of the Boston area... Last week in Lowell, seven people -- including three young children -- were killed in a deadly apartment fire that has devastated the local Cambodian community.

Lowell fire hits heart of Cambodian community

33-year-old Ellen Vuong and her boyfriend Torn Sak, and three of the couple's children, Anthony, 12, Ryan, 9, and Sayuri, 7, perished in the fire early morning Thursday when they became trapped in their third floor apartment. Two of their young children were able to make it out alive. Two unrelated adults, 38-year-old Tina Christakos and an unidentified 70-year-old man, died in an apartment on the other side of the building.

According to the Lowell Fire Department, the three-alarm blaze was an accidental electrical fire.

Over the weekend, hundreds of community members gathered for a memorial service and collected donations for the families of the victims: