LAWS Affecting Vietnamese Exodus
(assembled by Khanh)
Before 1980
“Vietnamese refugees admitted to U.S. under special parole powers of the U.S. President and through special short-term legislation”
(Freeman 3)
Refugee Act of 1980
(Freeman 3)
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/orr/policy/refact1.htm“The Refugee Act of 1980 created The Federal Refugee Resettlement Program to provide for the effective resettlement of refugees and to assist them to achieve economic self-sufficiency as quickly as possible after arrival in the United States.”
“A 1985 ceiling of 70,000 refugees, with 270,000 immigrants total and 20,000 from any one country, was established. Annually, the Proposed Refugee Admissions Report to the Congress is written detailing new circumstances involving refugees worldwide, and determining the new annual ceiling of refugees resettling in the United States.”
“The primary goal of the Refugee Act of 1980 was to bring U.S. law into compliance with the requirements of international law. Though domestic U.S. law has long contained provisions designed to protect certain persons fearing persecution, U.S. accession to the 1967 Refugee Protocol created certain specific legal obligations pursuant to the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees. Years of controversy about these obligations led to the passage of the Refugee Act.”
Orderly Departure Program (ODP)
Established by United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR). Allow Vietnamese to leave Vietnam without attempting dangerous escapades. VN people can go from VN directly to new homes in U.S., Canada, etc. Widened spectrum of refugee to asylum seekers from oppressive regimes not only Communism). Some people come with immigrant not refugee status. Need sponsor.
Good idea, but initially political prisoners were not allowed to leave VN. VN gov’t used ODP to get rid of unwanted peoples e.g. Amerasians & ethnic Chinese. Feared anti-VN Communism mobilization of exiles. Lengthy legal process w/ disagreements b/t U.S. & VN.
1988: U.S. pledged to bring over remaining 85000 VN political prisoners who have been imprisoned for over 3 yrs.
(Freeman 4, 34)
1987
Humanitarian Operation (HO)
Special Released Reeducation Center Detainee Resettlement Program
Agreement b/t Vietnam & U.S. Former reeducation camp prisoners must have been imprisoned for 3 or more years
(Freeman 4)
December 1987
Amerasian Homecoming Program
Allowed admission of Amerasians & family. About 40000 Amerasians and family came to U.S. in 1994.
(Freeman 35)
1951 United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees
1967 Protocal-provided protection for asylum seekers. People should not be returned a/g their own will to a place where they feared persecution
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
(Freeman 34)
1989
Comprehensive Plan of Action (CPA)
Designated March 14, 1989 as cutoff date for asylum seekers
Wanted to discourage continued escapes from VN by refugees
People before date immediately granted refugee status; countries of asylum interviewed them to determine admittance
• Those w/ relatives in new country
• Prove involvement w/ U.S. in VN
People after date had to be screened for refugee status
Children under 16 yrs. Were evaluated by Special Committee to determine resettlement or repatriation
Over 200000 asylum seekers after CPA past
75-80% denied refugee status
June 1993: over 45000 denied refuge refused repatriation→UNHCR & Vietnam agreed on forced repatriation
(Freeman 38-39)
This momentum eventually led to the passage of the 1965 Immigration & Nationality Act. The Act abolished the restrictive national origins system originally passed in 1924 in favor of a quota and preference system. Priority was now given to "family reunification" so that U.S. citizens and permanent residents could sponsor the following types of immigrants in this order of preference:
1. Unmarried children under 21 years of age of U.S. citizens
2. Spouses and unmarried children of permanent residents
3. Professionals, scientists, and artists "of exceptional ability"
4. Married children over 21 years of age and their spouses and children of U.S. citizens
5. Siblings and their spouses and children of U.S. citizens
6. Workers in occupations with labor shortages
7. Political refugees
Each country in the eastern hemisphere was given a quota of 20,000 but children under 21, spouses, and parents of U.S. citizens were exempt from this quota. Also, countries in the western hemisphere would not be subject to any quotas. Seventy-four percent of the eastern hemisphere's quota was allotted to the four family reunification preferences, 20% of the quota was given to meeting the two occupational preferences, and six percent was allotted to political refugees. Immigrants admitted using the second preference could also petition to bring over their parents (who would not be subject to numerical quotas).
The third and sixth preferences would have to be verified and approved by the U.S. Department of Labor. There was also a non-preference category for immigrants who would invest at least $40,000 in a business once they came to the U.S. Also, in 1980, the seventh preference for refugees was replaced by more comprehensive legislation that expanded the quotas for refugees, in response to mass refugee migrations for Viet Nam and other countries around the world.
These preferences were structured to encourage U.S. citizens already in the U.S. to sponsor their other family members as new immigrants. At first, the architects and supporters of this Act did not expect a large increase in Asian immigrants because since Asian countries had very low rates of immigration prior to 1965, the expectation was that there were not large enough numbers of Asians in the U.S. to matter. At the time, Asian Americans were only 0.5% of total U.S. population. Therefore, U.S. officials expected immigration from Europe to account for the vast majority of these new immigrants.
However, as it turned out, because most European immigrants had come to the U.S. much earlier than Asians, there weren't many immediate family left in Europe to reunite. Also, Europe was experiencing its own post-war economic boom, so there was little incentive for Europeans to immigrate elsewhere. On the other hand, Asian Americans and Asian immigrants saw this as a great opportunity to bring over family members, if they were U.S. citizens.
Many Asian war brides who married U.S. servicemen after World War II began using the family reunification preferences to bring over their siblings. However, the first Asians to immigrate to the U.S. under the provisions of this Act were mainly professionals and political refugees. Once they arrived in the U.S., they applied for permanent resident status and eventually for U.S. citizenship. Then many took full advantage of the family reunification preferences of the 1965 Act to bring over spouses, children, siblings, and parents.
Thus began the cycle of chain immigration and sponsorship -- initial Asian immigrants (many of whom came as professionals or refugees) would attain permanent resident and later citizenship status and would sponsor family members and relatives. After these family member and relatives arrived in the U.S. and became permanent residents and citizens, they in turn would sponsor their family members and relatives, and so on.
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Total Number of Immigrants Admitted by Continent and Selected Country of Birth, 1971-2002
Continent/
Country of Origin # of Immigrants
1971 - 2002
Africa 825,700
Asia 1 7,331,500
Bangladesh 93,900
Cambodia 150,900
China 2 1,179,300
India 1,005,100
Japan 177,600
Laos 215,800
Philippines 1,508,100
South Korea 839,600
Viet Nam 1,098,000
Europe 3 3,300,400
North America 9,844,500
Caribbean 2,936,800
Central America 1,334,200
Mexico 5,141,600
South America 1,479,700
All Countries 19,410,300
Source: Statistical Abstract of the U.S., 2004 (Table 8)
1 Includes middle eastern countries and Israel
2 From 1971-1990, data includes Taiwan
3 Includes old Soviet Union countries and Russia
This cyclical process of Asian immigration produced significant and unanticipated increases in the Asian American population beginning in the late 1960s. The table on the right uses data from the 2004 Statistical Abstract of the U.S. and provides descriptive statistics on the number of immigrants admitted to the U.S. by continent and selected countries of birth from 1971 to 2002 (the last year in which full statistics are available).
As the results show, since 1971, out of the 18 million or so immigrants around the world admitted to the U.S., about 7.3 million of them were born in Asia, with the most coming from the Philippines, followed by China (which includes numbers from Taiwan from 1971-1990), then Viet Nam and India. Overall, immigrants born in Mexico account the largest national group, with over five million coming to the U.S. since 1971.
These unprecedented numbers of immigrants from Asia have led to many demographic, economic, and cultural shifts in the Asian American community and mainstream American society in general. Once mainly composed of the U.S.-born, virtually all Asian American ethnic groups are now predominantly foreign-born due to the influx of so many immigrants as a result of the 1965 Act. Among other consequences, their presence has contributed to the revitalization (as well as the new development) of many Asian enclaves in several major metropolitan areas in the U.S.
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