March 4, 2024 IN: Action Alerts, Immigration

ACTION ALERT: Urge Your US Representative to Cosponsor the Southeast Asian Deportation Relief Act

Last week, SEARAC joined our community partners from the Southeast Asian Freedom Network (SEAFN)in Washington, DC to promote the Southeast Asian Deportation Relief Act (SEADRA). This historic bill, led by Reps. Judy Chu (CA-28), Pramila Jayapal (WA-7), Zoe Lofgren (CA-18), and Ayanna Pressley (MA-7), would alleviate the continuous fear that many Southeast Asian refugee families live with of being torn apart from their loved ones and communities. Specifically, SEADRA would put a stop to the unjust deportations of Southeast Asian refugees and provide further protections for the more than 15,000 community members with final orders of removal. The bill would:

• End the deportation of refugees from Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam who arrived in the United States by 2008;
• Permanently authorize employment eligibility for Southeast Asians with a final order of removal with a five-year renewal period;
• End in-person ICE check-ins and establish five-year intervals between virtual check-ins for Southeast Asians on order of supervision;
• Ensure that Southeast Asian refugees who have already been deported can return home to the United States and be reunited with their families; and
• Allow Southeast Asian refugees who are still in the United States and face deportation to fight their deportation orders.

Southeast Asian Americans must be able to live in safety with their families, and SEADRA is a crucial element of restoring humanity and compassion to our immigration system for impacted community members. To achieve that, we need your help to increase support for this bill in Congress.

TAKE ACTION: Urge your US Representative to cosponsor SEADRA!

1. Check if your Representative is a cosponsor of SEADRA through this page. If you don’t know who your Representative is, look them up online at https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative

2. Call the US House switchboard operator at (202) 224-3121 and ask to be connected to your Representative; OR, call your Rep’s Washington, DC office directly.

3. Use the following scripts (or write your own).

NOT a cosponsor: “My name is ____ from (city, state, zip code), and I am a constituent of Representative ____. I am calling to urge the Representative to cosponsor H.R.5248, the Southeast Asian Deportation Relief Act. This important bill would end the unjust deportations of Southeast Asian refugees, who came to the United States fleeing war and violence in Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. Deportation is a cruel form of double punishment for these individuals who have already served their time, and they deserve to live in safety with their families. Can I count on the Representative’s support?”

If your Representative is already a cosponsor: “My name is ____ from (city, state, zip code), and I am a constituent of Representative ____. I am calling to thank the Representative for cosponsoring H.R.5248, the Southeast Asian Deportation Relief Act. This important bill would end the unjust deportations of Southeast Asian refugees, who came to the United States fleeing war and violence in Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. Deportation is a cruel form of double punishment for these individuals who have already served their time, and they deserve to live in safety with their families. I thank the Representative for cosponsoring this bill and urge their continued support for the Southeast Asian American community.”

4. Share graphics from our toolkit on your social feeds. Tag your Representatives! (Twitter / X handles can be found here.) 

Photo caption: Quyên Đinh, Executive Director at SEARAC delivers remarks at the 2022 press conference for SEADRA in Washington, DC. (Photo courtesy of SEARAC)