HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019-001 - 2008 United States-Vietnam RepatriationRESOLUTION NO. 2019-001
RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
SANTA ANA URGING PRESIDENT TRUMP TO CEASE
EFFORTS TO REINTERPRET OR RENEGOTIATE THE
2008 UNITED STATES -VIETNAM REPATRIATION
AGREEMENT IN ORDER TO DEPORT VIETNAMESE
IMMIGRANTS WHO HAVE LIVED IN THE UNITED
STATES FOR DECADES
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA ANA AS
FOLLOWS:
Section 1. The City Council of the City of Santa Ana hereby finds, determines
and declares as follows:
A. WHEREAS, Many Vietnamese Americans living in the State of California
today came to the United States after the fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975,
which marked the beginning of an exodus of over one million Vietnamese
who left their homeland fleeing communism in search of freedom and
democracy; and
B. WHEREAS, Over the past four decades, Vietnamese immigrants have
enriched the social, cultural, and economic landscape of the United States
and the great State of California; and
C. WHEREAS, As new immigrants, Vietnamese Americans overcame social,
linguistic, and economic challenges through hard work, achieving success in
a plethora of professional fields, including business, military service, politics
and law, science and education, literature and journalism, and sports and
entertainment; and
D. WHEREAS, The State of California is home to more than 500,000
Vietnamese Americans that enrich the social, cultural and economic fabric of
our state; and
E. WHEREAS, Orange County has the largest Vietnamese population outside of
Vietnam; and
F. WHEREAS, Vietnamese Americans have enhanced California and Orange
County's culture through establishment of vibrant Little Saigon communities
throughout the state that preserve Vietnamese heritage, food, language, and
customs for younger generations and allow all Californians to be immersed in
the richness of Vietnamese culture: and
Resolution No. 2019-001
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G. WHEREAS, Refusing to forget their historical struggle for freedom and
democracy, Vietnamese Americans throughout the United States and the
State of California continue to speak out against the systemic assaults on the
freedoms of expression and religion perpetrated today by the Socialist
Republic of Vietnam and advocate in favor of human rights and democracy in
Vietnam and worldwide; and
H. WHEREAS, An agreement made in 2008 between the United States
government and the Vietnamese government specifically bars the deportation
of Vietnamese people who arrived in the United States before July 12, 1995;
and
I. WHEREAS, The 2008 agreement specifically states that Vietnamese citizens
are "not subject to return to Vietnam" if they "arrived in the United States
before July 12, 1995."
Section 2. The City Council of the City of Santa Ana hereby finds determines
and declares that it respectfully urges the President of the United States to stop any
efforts to reinterpret or renegotiate the 2008 United States -Vietnam repatriation
agreement.
Section 3. The City Council of the City of Santa Ana hereby finds determines
and declares that the City of Santa Ana stands in solidarity with the Vietnamese
refugees who came to our country before 1995.
Section 4. If any surcharge or fee, section, subsection, sentence, clause,
phrase or word of this Resolution is for any reason held to be invalid by a court of
competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining
portions of this Resolution. The City Council hereby declares that it would have passed
and adopted this Resolution, and each and all provisions hereof, irrespective of the fact
that one or more provisions may be declared invalid.
Section 5. This Resolution shall take effect immediately upon its adoption by
the City Council, and the Clerk of the Council shall attest to and certify the vote adopting
this Resolution.
ADOPTED this 15th day of January, 2019.
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APPROVED AS TO FORM:
e a
Sonia R. Carvalho, City Attorney
AYES: Councilmembers: Iglesias, Penaloza, Pulido, Sarmiento, Solorio,
Villegas (6)
NOES: Councilmembers: None (0)
ABSTAIN: Councilmembers: None (0)
NOT PRESENT: Councilmembers: Reyna (1)
CERTIFICATION OF ATTESTATION AND ORIGINALITY
I, MARIA D. HUIZAR, Clerk of the Council, do hereby attest to and certify the attached
Resolution No. 2019-001 to be the original resolution adopted by the City Council of the
City of Santa Ana on January 15, 2019.
Date: ✓ CROP-/?
Maria D. Huizar
Clerk of the Council
City of Santa Ana
Resolution No. 2019-001
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