Southeast Asian refugees in Massachusetts appealed to the very end to President Joe Biden for clemency as the end of his term has come and gone. Many of these individuals, who resettled in the U.S. following the Vietnam War, now face deportation due to decades-old criminal convictions.
The deportation of Cambodian refugees rose dramatically during the Trump administration, with numbers increasing by nearly 300%, Public News Service reported. Kevin Lam, campaign coordinator for the Southeast Asian Freedom Network, noted that many refugees lacked access to resources to secure U.S. citizenship, leaving them vulnerable to removal and separation from their families.
“The Biden administration has an opportunity to shield immigrant and refugee communities from the looming threat of detention and deportation, which could escalate under a future Trump presidency,” Lam remarked earlier this week, as cited by MSN. He advocated for expanding Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for immigrants from countries impacted by war and extending protections for DACA recipients.
As the U.S. prepares to mark the 50th anniversary of the fall of Saigon in 2025, the struggles of Southeast Asian refugees remain poignant. More than a million individuals from Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos resettled in the U.S., with significant populations in Massachusetts cities such as Boston and Lowell. Some refugees have faced difficulties assimilating and overcoming trauma, with some becoming ensnared in the criminal justice system.
Lam urged President Biden to reevaluate past policies that contributed to mass incarceration and deportations. “Policies from previous administrations, including those supported by Biden in the past, have funneled Southeast Asians into a system that ties imprisonment to deportation,” he asserted, according to Public News Service.
President Biden recently granted clemency to nearly 1,500 individuals and indicated that additional pardons might be issued before his tenure ends. This morning he preemptively pardoned the January 6 Committee as Trump had vowed to take action against them. Advocates had been hopeful that clemency would extend to Southeast Asian refugees, who rebuilt their lives after fleeing conflict yet continue to face legal and social obstacles.
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