,,iv #aafth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,,res4 #ieb ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,may #e1 #bjbj,mr4 ,lowenthal 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,smith of ,washington1 ,mr4 ,rouda1 ,mr4 ,vargas1 ,mr4 ,bera1 ,mr4 ,mc,nerney1 ,mr4 ,correa1 ,ms4 ,speier1 ,mr4 ,cisneros1 ,ms4 ,pressley1 ,mr4 ,cox of ,california1 ,ms4 ,norton1 and ,mrs4 ,watson ,coleman7 submitted the following resolution2 which was referred to the ,committee on the ,judiciary ,,resolution ,expressing the sense of the ,house of ,representatives to recognize the resettlement of ,southeast ,asian refugees1 commemorate the contributions of ,southeast ,asian ,americans to the ,united ,states1 urge the ,president to halt the deportation of ,southeast ,asian refugees1 and advance equitable policies for ,southeast-,asian-,american communities4 ,whereas ,april #ag1 #bjbj1 marks the #deth year since the ,khmer ,rouge began its devastating reign in ,cambodia1 ,april #cj1 #bjbj1 marks the #deth anniversary of the fall of ,saigon1 ,december #b1 #bjbj1 marks the #deth year since the abolition of the ,lao monarchy1 and ,may #a1 #bjbj1 marks the #deth year since the ,hmong1 ,lao1 and other ,lao ethnic minorities from ,laos began their evacuation from ,laos2 ,whereas #bjbj commemorates the #deth year of the beginning of the resettlement of ,southeast ,asian refugees to the ,united ,states2 ,whereas ,southeast ,asian ,americans comprise more than #c1jjj1jjj individuals in the ,united ,states and include the ,cham1 ,hmong1 ,khmer1 ,khmer ,kampuchea ,krom1 ,khmer ,loeu1 ,khmu1 ,lahu1 ,lao1 ,iu ,mien1 ,montagnards1 ,phutai1 ,pnong1 ,tai ,dam1 ,tai ,deng1 ,tai ,lue1 and ,vietnamese2 ,whereas the ,united ,states intervened in ,cambodia1 ,laos1 and ,vietnam to prevent the spread of communism in ,southeast ,asia through direct military interventions and covert and clandestine operations2 ,whereas the ,vietnamese from ,south ,vietnam allied with the ,united ,states in opposition to the expansion of ,north ,vietnam until the fall of ,saigon on ,april #cj1 #aige1 and many ,vietnamese still suffer lasting trauma from the war1 including exposure to ,agent ,orange and post-traumatic stress disorder2 ,whereas the ,central ,intelligence ,agency and various different agencies enlisted the ,hmong1 ,lao1 and ,laotian ethnic groups in ,laos as allies to aid ,united ,states forces in ,southeast ,asia1 waging a #ac-year covert operation called the ,secret ,wars against the ,pathet ,lao1 ,viet ,cong1 and ,northern ,vietnamese ,army2 ,whereas the ,united ,states heavily bombed ,laos1 leaving the country as the most heavily bombed country in the world1 with over #ehj1jjj bombing missions between #aifd and #aigc2 ,whereas ,cambodians assisted ,united ,states forces during ,american operations in ,cambodia1 including ,operation ,menu2 ,whereas the ,united ,states dropped #edj1jjj tons of bombs into ,cambodia between #aifi and #aigc against ,viet ,cong forces located in ,cambodia1 destabilizing a fragile government1 resulting in the rise of the ,khmer ,rouge1 and leading to the genocide of an estimated #b1jjj1jjj ,cambodians2 ,whereas the ,united ,states dispersed over #ac1jjj1jjj gallons of ,agent ,orange in ,vietnam1 #dge1jjj gallons in ,laos1 and #dj1ijj in ,cambodia during this era1 with many ,southeast ,asians still impacted by the effects of this toxin2 ,whereas over #c1jjj1jjj individuals were displaced by war1 conflict1 and genocide from ,cambodia1 ,laos1 and ,vietnam2 ,whereas between #aige to the mid-#bjjjs1 the ,united ,states accepted over #a1bjj1jjj ,southeast ,asians escaping the ,vietnam war1 persecution in ,laos1 and ,khmer ,rouge genocide in ,cambodia2 ,whereas the resettlement of ,southeast ,asian refugees in the ,united ,states typically placed many individuals and families in communities with inadequate financial1 long-term resettlement support and many of these individuals and their children languished in severe poverty2 ,whereas many ,southeast ,asian refugees have thrived and contributed greatly to the economic1 educational1 military1 political1 and social culture of the ,united ,states since their resettlement2 ,whereas despite the success of many ,southeast ,asian ,americans1 many still face economic1 educational1 and linguistic barriers in the ,united ,states1 in particular1 a significant percentage of ,cambodian1 ,hmong1 ,lao1 ,vietnamese1 and other ,southeast ,asian ,americans endure severe poverty1 lack of ,english proficiency1 educational barriers1 and unique health disparities as survivors of war and genocide2 ,whereas the ,war on ,poverty1 including the ,personal ,responsibility and ,work ,opportunity ,reconciliation ,act1 decreased resources for low-income1 refugee1 and immigrant communities to transform from generational poverty2 ,whereas1 as survivors of war and genocide1 ,southeast ,asian ,americans still face disparate health outcomes1 including higher rates of physical1 mental1 and chronic health challenges1 including over #fj percent of ,cambodians and a significant number of other ,southeast ,asian ,americans who continue to experience post-traumatic stress disorder2 ,whereas1 as children of the survivors of war and genocide1 first and second generation ,southeast ,asian ,americans have intergenerational1 compounded trauma that has created poor mental health conditions and education barriers2 ,whereas the ,war on ,drugs1 ,violent ,crime ,control and ,law ,enforcement ,act1 expansion of the incarceration system1 and over policing of low-income refugee communities resulted in a significant number of ,southeast ,asian ,americans coming into contact with the criminal justice system2 ,whereas the ,illegal ,immigration ,reform and ,immigrant ,responsibility ,act of #aiif expanded the definition of what type of crime could result in deportation and limited due process protections for immigrants1 refugees1 and other noncitizens2 the ,act also allowed the expanded definition to be applied retroactively without proper consideration of an individual's lived circumstances2 ,whereas more than #ae1jjj ,southeast ,asian ,americans1 many of whom were refugees1 live in the ,united ,states with a final order of removal and over #b1jjj have been deported since #aiih2 ,whereas many ,southeast ,asian ,americans with a final order of removal are ,united ,states residents who are more than #aj years removed from the time of their criminal convictions and have moved on to become pillars of their communities1 homeowners1 fathers1 mothers1 caregivers1 and tenured employees2 ,whereas the ,trump administration's approach to deportation breaks up families and1 in some cases1 the deportees have never lived in their country of origin1 do not speak the language of their country of origin1 or do not have a living relative in their country of origin2 ,whereas1 in ,december #bjah1 a total of #ee members of the ,house of ,representatives and #ac ,senators signed onto two separate letters by ,representatives ,judy ,chu and ,pramila ,jayapal and ,senators ,mazie ,hirono and ,kamala ,harris to the ,president1 the ,department of ,homeland ,security1 and the ,department of ,state urging fiscal restraint in the deportation of ,southeast ,asian ,americans2 and ,whereas1 in ,december #bjah1 an additional #bb members of the ,house of ,representatives signed onto a letter to the ,department of ,homeland ,security opposing renegotiations of the bilateral ,united ,states and ,vietnam memorandum of understanding that would strip deportation protections from ,vietnamese ,americans who arrived in the ,united ,states before ,july #ab1 #aiie1 from deportation3 ,now1 therefore1 be it ,that the ,house of ,representatives-- 7#a7 commemorates the #de years since ,southeast ,asian refugees began resettling in the ,united ,states2 7#b7 honors the sacrifices made by ,southeast-,asian-,american communities on behalf of the ,united ,states2 7#c7 recognizes the contributions of ,southeast ,asian ,americans to the economic1 educational1 military1 political1 and social culture of the ,united ,states2 7#d7 opposes the deportation of ,southeast ,asian ,americans who resettled to the ,united ,states as refugees from ,cambodia1 ,laos1 and ,vietnam2 7#e7 urges that ,president ,trump and his administration place an immediate moratorium on the deportation of thousands of ,southeast ,asian ,americans whose crimes occurred more than #aj years ago because the ,house of ,representatives honors these individuals as they hold fast to ,american values of rehabilitation and the need for second chances2 7#f7 continues to pursue comprehensive policies that ensure equity and justice for ,southeast-,asian-,american communities1 including in education and health2 and 7#g7 honors the ,united ,states responsibility to refugees1 immigrants1 and naturalized ,united ,states citizens in this community4