Trump's targeting of refugees is un-American
As a Vietnamese refugee and a member of the Illinois legislature, President Donald Trump's decision to halt the U.S. Refugee Admissions program and his cancellation of travel plans for cleared refugees with planned flights to the U.S. are political issues that are very close to my heart. These new orders go beyond Trump’s efforts to block asylum seekers in his first term. They are also inhumane — the flight cancellations, for one, will reportedly block 1,600 Afghani refugees already cleared to come to the U.S. following the American withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 — as well as harmful to our national reputation, and contrary to law.I want to draw a contrast between Trump’s actions and those of another American president who has been much in our thoughts of late: Jimmy Carter. Opinion bug Opinion Carter assumed the presidency in 1976, the year after the Vietnam War ended. That conflict ravaged Vietnam for 20 years and resulted in the deaths of some 3 million Vietnamese. Among those killed were the entire family of my father, who served in the South Vietnamese military alongside U.S. allied forces. At the end of the war, the South Vietnamese people faced oppression and persecution from the ruling Communist Party of Vietnam. Close to a million, my father included, were captured and sent to “re-education camps” where they were subject to hard labor, torture and harsh living conditions, often resulting in death. The desperate situation led to the exodus of “boat people” who fled the country from the late 70s until the early 90s. Some 800,000 managed to escape the country by boat, most traveling on overcrowded and flimsy craft at great personal risk. It is estimated that 200,000 to 400,000 Vietnamese perished in the attempt.As the flow of boat people intensified in 1978, Carter ordered U.S. naval ships to pick up refugees and expedite their resettlement, sometimes in the U.S. At a meeting of the G7 nations the following year, Carter announced that the U.S. would increase the number of refugees admitted from 7,000 per month to 14,000 per month. He hoped other countries would follow his leadThe decision was not politically popular. A CBS/New York Times poll from that time suggests that only 34% of voters approved. But Carter appealed to America’s humanitarian values: "We are prepared to act with the compassion that has traditionally characterized the United States when confronted with such situations of human crisis. Thousands of human lives are at stake [...] The response of Americans to the plight of refugees has always been generous. I am confident that we can count upon a similarly generous response to the present challenge. We can and will work together to find homes and jobs for the Indochinese.”Hold Trump accountable for violating Refugee ActMy family was among those who resettled here and started a new life. As the first Vietnamese American elected official in Illinois state history, and in the Midwest region as a whole, it is important for me to honor Carter’s legacy.In 1980, Carter signed the Refugee Act to address the growing needs of refugees for political asylum. This was the first comprehensive amendment to immigration laws in decades. The law raised the U.S. limit on refugees from 17,400 to 50,000, and allowed for an emergency provision to increase that number. With the exception of Trump, all presidents that followed Carter have used this provision. Since 1980, more than 3 million refugees have been resettled in the U.S., contributing greatly to our economic and civic life. Related Ukrainian refugee students find a welcome at Catholic school in Ukrainian Village Chicago prepares for Ukrainian refugees to ease burden on Warsaw Trump’s orders violate the Refugee Act, an act of Congress that cannot be nullified by his pen. The people it protects include those who, like the South Vietnamese decades earlier, fought alongside the U.S. We should not turn our back on those to whom we have already offered protection through legal pathways.These are tumultuous times, and the country is in the grip of a deep crisis of unaffordability and economic inequality. Not surprisingly, refugees and immigrants are often scapegoated. But we are not the problem — rather, it is decades of policy driven by powerful monied interests that have brought us to this place. Our country’s history of leadership in refugee resettlement and aid should not be discarded, and we should remember our national legacy offering hope to refugees. Congress and the courts must address Trump’s harmful and illegal executive orders. We must fight to continue our commitments to refugees so that America remains a symbol of goodwill and human freedom in a troubled world.State Rep. Hoan Huynh, D-Chicago, is the first Vietnamese Am
As a Vietnamese refugee and a member of the Illinois legislature, President Donald Trump's decision to halt the U.S. Refugee Admissions program and his cancellation of travel plans for cleared refugees with planned flights to the U.S. are political issues that are very close to my heart.
These new orders go beyond Trump’s efforts to block asylum seekers in his first term. They are also inhumane — the flight cancellations, for one, will reportedly block 1,600 Afghani refugees already cleared to come to the U.S. following the American withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 — as well as harmful to our national reputation, and contrary to law.
I want to draw a contrast between Trump’s actions and those of another American president who has been much in our thoughts of late: Jimmy Carter.
Carter assumed the presidency in 1976, the year after the Vietnam War ended. That conflict ravaged Vietnam for 20 years and resulted in the deaths of some 3 million Vietnamese. Among those killed were the entire family of my father, who served in the South Vietnamese military alongside U.S. allied forces. At the end of the war, the South Vietnamese people faced oppression and persecution from the ruling Communist Party of Vietnam. Close to a million, my father included, were captured and sent to “re-education camps” where they were subject to hard labor, torture and harsh living conditions, often resulting in death.
The desperate situation led to the exodus of “boat people” who fled the country from the late 70s until the early 90s. Some 800,000 managed to escape the country by boat, most traveling on overcrowded and flimsy craft at great personal risk. It is estimated that 200,000 to 400,000 Vietnamese perished in the attempt.
As the flow of boat people intensified in 1978, Carter ordered U.S. naval ships to pick up refugees and expedite their resettlement, sometimes in the U.S. At a meeting of the G7 nations the following year, Carter announced that the U.S. would increase the number of refugees admitted from 7,000 per month to 14,000 per month. He hoped other countries would follow his lead
The decision was not politically popular. A CBS/New York Times poll from that time suggests that only 34% of voters approved. But Carter appealed to America’s humanitarian values: "We are prepared to act with the compassion that has traditionally characterized the United States when confronted with such situations of human crisis. Thousands of human lives are at stake [...] The response of Americans to the plight of refugees has always been generous. I am confident that we can count upon a similarly generous response to the present challenge. We can and will work together to find homes and jobs for the Indochinese.”
Hold Trump accountable for violating Refugee Act
My family was among those who resettled here and started a new life. As the first Vietnamese American elected official in Illinois state history, and in the Midwest region as a whole, it is important for me to honor Carter’s legacy.
In 1980, Carter signed the Refugee Act to address the growing needs of refugees for political asylum. This was the first comprehensive amendment to immigration laws in decades. The law raised the U.S. limit on refugees from 17,400 to 50,000, and allowed for an emergency provision to increase that number. With the exception of Trump, all presidents that followed Carter have used this provision. Since 1980, more than 3 million refugees have been resettled in the U.S., contributing greatly to our economic and civic life.
Trump’s orders violate the Refugee Act, an act of Congress that cannot be nullified by his pen. The people it protects include those who, like the South Vietnamese decades earlier, fought alongside the U.S. We should not turn our back on those to whom we have already offered protection through legal pathways.
These are tumultuous times, and the country is in the grip of a deep crisis of unaffordability and economic inequality. Not surprisingly, refugees and immigrants are often scapegoated. But we are not the problem — rather, it is decades of policy driven by powerful monied interests that have brought us to this place.
Our country’s history of leadership in refugee resettlement and aid should not be discarded, and we should remember our national legacy offering hope to refugees.
Congress and the courts must address Trump’s harmful and illegal executive orders. We must fight to continue our commitments to refugees so that America remains a symbol of goodwill and human freedom in a troubled world.
State Rep. Hoan Huynh, D-Chicago, is the first Vietnamese American to be elected in Illinois and represents the 13th District.
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