This historic bill would limit deportations of Southeast Asian refugees and provide further relief for those with final orders of removal.
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SEARAC, SEAFN Celebrate House Reintroduction of Southeast Asian Deportation Relief Act
SEADRA is historic federal legislation that would free Southeast Asian American refugee and immigrant families from the continuous fear and trauma of being torn apart from their loved ones and communities.
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“Today I am fighting for a real, authentic, and inclusive Land of the Free. With my entire heart and soul, I believe this country needs to provide true justice and support to all marginalized communities. Our laws and policies must reflect our values as a country.”
a mother and wife, as well as a daughter of Cambodian immigrants who escaped the Khmer Rouge genocide
“For the past 50 years, the Southeast Asian community has suffered through not only war, genocide, and refugee resettlement, but also a deportation crisis that has further ripped our community apart”
Southeast Asian Freedom Network
“It’s unjust to further punish people with detention and deportation solely based on where they are born, and it is unjust to punish them for the same mistakes that they had already paid their debts for.”
featured in our anti-deportation PSAs
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An increasing number of Southeast Asian Americans are being detained and deported, separated from their families without a second chance. Instead of transforming our immigration system to center humanity and dignity for all, this administration is focused on a building a mass deportation machine that will tear families apart, weaken and traumatize communities, and leave intergenerational wounds. We cannot continue this cycle of trauma.
Posted @withregram • @seacvillage We are heartbroken by the deportation of 158 Vietnamese and Laotian folks last week. We wanted to share and circulate this statement created by Vo Danh.
Jun 5
SEARAC is thrilled to see AB 1242 move forward! AB 1242 will strengthen language access for our communities by updating the Dymally-Alatorre Bilingual Services Act and make sure translations done by AI have humans overseeing them. Thank you to @asmstephanienguyen for her leadership and to all our partners in the CA AA & NHPI Health Equity Coalition!
Posted @withregram • @ocapica97 🏛️ OCAPICA and our incredible AANHPI partner organizations @asianhealthservices @socalpicrt @causeusa @searac @pihp_oc @asianresourcesinc @advancingjusticesocal @pacificislandertf came together at the Capitol to provide testimony in support of AB 1242 by @asmstephanienguyen — a vital step toward health equity for our communities. 🙌🏽
AB 1242 addresses the need for language access for not only Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander populations, but for all communities in California.
We’re proud to advocate for change and uplift the diverse voices that make up the AANHPI community. Let’s keep the momentum going — equity begins with access. 💪🏽📊💬
Thank you to these amazing organizations for voicing your support @childrennow @chirla_org @pivotorg @cpcainsights @western_center @nourishcalifornia @endchildpovca
Jun 2
This AANHPI Heritage Month, the SEARAC team attended conferences, movie premieres, and gatherings to uplift SEAA strength, histories, and resilience. SEARAC’s California team joined our partners at the Hmong History and Cultural Studies, honored Cambodian Genocide Remembrance Day, and celebrated Hmong American Day at the State Capitol. We also celebrated the launch of our docuseries "Southeast Asian American Journeys" at CAAMFest and joined the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies for their Legislative Leadership Summit.
Thank you to @caamedia @apaics_org @hipcalifornia @taaforg @ocdehistory for the opportunities to come together this AANHPI Heritage Month and to celebrate Southeast Asian American experiences, voices, and power.
Today is the last day of Give in May and we invite you to commemorate 50 years of Southeast Asian refugee resettlement a gift to SEARAC. Give today at the link in our bio.
May 31
Earlier this month, the SEARAC team joined our friends at @caamedia for the premiere of our docuseries, Southeast Asian American Journeys. This landmark series, part of the Our Roots, Our Power campaign, commemorates the 50th anniversary of Southeast Asian American (SEAA) refugee resettlement and uplifts unique stories of community strength, survival, and self-determination.
We are grateful to our partners, storytellers, producers, filmmakers @smellydurianface @joualeelens @oanhnhi.nguyen, and — most of all — the heroes of these episodes for this opportunity.
May 29
“Our history deserves recognition, and our communities deserve repair. Fifty years after SEAAs arrived on American shores, we are still asking for the same things: safety, dignity, and belonging.”
SEARAC recently co-authored an op-ed with @legaciesofwar for @asamnews urging our allies to not just uplift Southeast Asian American voices and experiences this AANHPI Heritage Month, but to also take action to defend and protect our communities. 2025 marks the 50th commemoration of Southeast Asian refugee resettlement and this moment compels us to remember the violent histories that forced Southeast Asians to flee their homelands and to fight for the justice our communities deserve.
Read the full article at the link in our bio.
This month is Give in May and you can support SEARAC and Southeast Asian American community power at bit.ly/donatetosearac
Posted @withregram • @legaciesofwar Imagine being a refugee forced to flee your homeland, only to find that the fight for survival continues–and is perpetuated by–your new home. Seeking refuge from genocide, war, and political persecution, Southeast Asian Americans (SEAAs) migrated in droves to the United States and today comprise a powerful community of over 3 million residents. Their continued struggle against systemic exclusion, displacement, and long-lasting impacts of American foreign policy, however, is rendered invisible by the uniformly “thriving” Asian American model minority myth.
Millions of unexploded ordnance, the dangerous remnants of the United States’ Secret Wars, still remain buried beneath the soil of Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam. It is imperative that the U.S confront its legacy in Southeast Asia, both through continued funding for bomb clearance and ending the deportation of SEAAs, many of whom were brought here as children and now face the prospect of being torn from their families. American war actions have forced the violent displacement of SEAA’s–and its foreign policy continues to do so in the present.
May 28
