[National] — Over the weekend, the Southeast Asian Freedom Network (SEAFN) received alarming reports that the Trump administration plans to deport over 300 Cambodian, Hmong, Lao, and Nepalese immigrants and refugees this week, with more expected monthly. We unequivocally denounce this inhumane act of tearing families apart and criminalizing our communities. “These are people who have served their time, rebuilt their lives, and are an integral part of our community,” said Chhaya Chhoum, Co-Director of SEAFN. “This act of cruelty will have a ripple effect on families left behind—children without parents, elders without caregivers, and communities once again forced to relive trauma.”
This year marks the 50th Anniversary since the U.S. waged wars in Southeast Asia. The war that created the largest refugee crisis in U.S. history. Instead of a moment of reflection and healing, we are now thrown into another crisis created by this administration. We must remember that these individuals are not just statistics. They are brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, husbands, and wives—people who have overcome decades of adversity to rebuild their lives in the U.S. in the face of racial violence, poverty, and hypercriminalization. Most of those facing deportation have never lived in Laos, Cambodia, or Vietnam. Many arrived as infants or young children fleeing war and genocide and have not returned since. They no longer speak the language or have family ties in the countries to which they are being deported. Specifically to Southeast Asian refugees, many are stateless and do not have citizenship of any respective country. Hence, making them more vulnerable to violence and torture upon return.
This week’s deportation is part of a broader pattern of abuse under this administration’s arbitrary immigration policy and the rewriting of who counts as a citizen, who does not, who deserves to belong, and who must be cast out. Over 16,000 Southeast Asian Americans currently have an order of removal. During Memorial Day weekend, ICE quietly disappeared 160 individuals—67 to Laos and 93 to Vietnam—in one of the largest mass removals in recent history. This week’s deportation doubled that number, signaling a disturbing escalation in ICE’s operations—an escalation that will only intensify with increased funding following the passage of the spending bill in July.
Legal and community advocates are speaking up and demanding justice. Bethany Li, Executive Director of Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund said “reports that the Trump administration plans to deport over 300 Southeast Asian refugees in a week are chilling. Since January, it has targeted these communities as a test run for its mass deportation campaign—using legally and morally bankrupt tactics to tear families apart and spread fear.” Kevin Lam, Co-Executive Director of the Asian American Resource Workshop in Boston, MA agreed. “Our communities are being used as a testing ground for expanded violence—through mass detention, deportation, and erasure.” He further emphasized “these deportations are not about safety—they’re about scapegoating, erasing our communities, and reinforcing the notion that only some people, not all, are worthy of full humanity.”
Immigrants and refugees deserve redemption, healing, and the chance to live with dignity. We are outraged at the escalating violence our communities are facing. “ICE is invading neighborhoods, raiding homes, and forcibly disappearing our loved ones, and unfortunately, there has been little media coverage of this crisis in the Southeast Asian communities.” Chhoum added. We will not stand by while this administration continues to target and harm immigrant and refugee families.
We call on elected officials and the broader public to speak out and demand an end to these inhumane deportations. Li urges us to “fight back—loudly and relentlessly—so these attacks don’t go unchallenged.” Our families deserve to stay together—not be torn apart by unjust policies, again and again.
To learn more about SEAFN’s Southeast Asian Relief and Responsibility (SEARR) Campaign and our efforts to end generational cycles of displacement and collective trauma, visit https://www.seafn.org/campaign/