On February 12, Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal (WA-07) re-introduced the Southeast Asian Deportation Relief Act of 2026 (SEADRA), which would shield Southeast Asian refugees from detention or deportation and create a pathway for 2,000 refugees who have already been deported to Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam to come back to the United States.
Jayapal is joined by her fellow Washington Rep. Adam Smith (WA-09), and Reps. Judy Chu (CA-28), Zoe Lofgren (CA-18), Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), and some two dozen co-sponsors.
The bill is re-introduced in an expanded form from previous years. In this iteration, the bill would prevent the Department of Homeland Security from detaining or deporting refugees from Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam who arrived in the United States prior to 2008, change mandatory in-person ICE check-ins to virtual check-ins every five years, and grant these people permanent work eligibility documents to be renewed every five years. It would also make it easier to re-open deportation cases. This would allow Southeast Asian refugees facing deportation to vacate their deportation order and stay in the U.S., and also allow those already deported to vacate their deportation and return.
As the press release notes: “These individuals often have U.S. citizen family members, serve as primary caregivers in their families, have no recollection of or meaningful ties to their country of origin, and have deep roots in their local communities in America.”
The press release for the bill points out that refugees from Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos comprise the largest refugee group ever welcomed to the U.S., with some 1.2 million refugees who either fought alongside the U.S. or fled violence, persecution or genocide.
According to the press release: “Most resettled into heavily disinvested communities with limited access to resources or support systems while grappling with the lingering trauma of war and displacement. As a result, many Southeast Asian youth made mistakes or were swept into cycles of violence—leading to criminal convictions and incarceration decades ago. Although many have since rebuilt their lives and given back to their communities, many SEAAs continue to face double punishment through deportation for decades-old convictions for which they have already served their time.”
“The SEADRA bill would end deportation for Southeast Asians as we know it,” said said Chhaya Chhoum, Co-Executive Director of Southeast Asian Freedom Network in the press release. “In this moment when we’re told to turn against one another, we must choose a different path: we belong here and no one is disposable. Our communities have organized, resisted and created new worlds when the old ones failed us. This bill is part of that legacy – a call to love and protect one another, especially now.”
The bill is endorsed by over 100 nationwide and statewide organizations, including locally: API Chaya, Asia Pacific Cultural Center, the Cambodian American Community Council of WA, InterIm Community Development Association, F.I.G.H.T (Formerly Incarcerated Group Healing Together), Japanese American Citizens League Seattle Chapter, Khmer Community of Seattle-King County, the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, the Wing Luke Museum, and the Board of Directors of The International Examiner.
