Amended in Senate March 19, 2015

Senate Joint Resolution No. 5

Introduced by Senator Nguyen

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(Coauthor: Senator Hertzberg)

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(Coauthors: Assembly Members begin delete Chu end delete begin insert Chávez, Chu, end insert and Kim)

March 10, 2015

Senate Joint Resolution No. 5—Relative to humanitarian resettlement.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SJR 5, as amended, Nguyen. Vietnam: humanitarian resettlement.

This measure would urge Congress and the President of the United States to expand the Humanitarian Resettlement Program to allow disabled veteran officers of the South Vietnamese Army currently living in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam to enter the United States.

Fiscal committee: no.

WHEREAS, The Vietnamese-American community plays an
important role in the social, cultural, and economic landscape of
the State of California and the United States; and

WHEREAS, The Socialist Republic of Vietnam’s human rights
violations and corrupt judicial system have resulted in the
incarceration of peaceful dissidents without due process; and

WHEREAS, Despite the renewal of diplomatic relations between
the United States and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in 1995,
and the launching of the United States-Vietnam Comprehensive
Partnership in July 2013, significant human rights violations
continue to persist; and

WHEREAS, The Global Network for Rights and Development’s
2014 International Human Rights Rank Indicator ranks the Socialist
Republic of Vietnam as one of the 15 countries who are the worst
offenders of human rights in the world; and

WHEREAS, The United States government and the American
people have a commitment to assisting individuals that fought as
allies in the Vietnam War begin delete who end delete begin insert and end insert continue to face persecution
and threats from the Communist government of the Socialist
Republic of Vietnam; and

WHEREAS, The veterans of the South Vietnamese Army, also
known as the Quân Lực Việt Nam Cộng Hòa, showed their
commitment to the United States by fighting alongside the United
States Armed Forces during the Vietnam War and have suffered
greatly since April 30, 1975; and

WHEREAS, The Humanitarian Resettlement Program, also
known as the Orderly Departure Program, has allowed for the
resettlement to the United States of former reeducation center
detainees, former Vietnamese employees of the United States
government, and former Vietnamese employees of private
American companies and organizations prior to April 30, 1975;
and

WHEREAS, Disabled veterans of the South Vietnamese Army,
also known as the Quân Lực Việt Nam Cộng Hòa, have suffered
a lifetime of great challenges and discrimination. Yet, disabled
veterans were excluded from the Humanitarian Resettlement
Program because they were not detained in reeducation camps for
the requisite number of years due to their physical disabilities; and

WHEREAS, Thousands of disabled veterans of the South
Vietnamese Army, also known as the Quân Lực Việt Nam Cộng
Hòa, and their families are still living in the Socialist Republic of
Vietnam, facing continued persecution from the government,
including a lack of access to jobs, housing, and education; and

WHEREAS, April 30, 2015, marks the 40th year since the Fall
of Saigon; and

WHEREAS, Amending the Humanitarian Resettlement Program,
also known as the Orderly Departure Program, to include disabled
veterans of the South Vietnamese Army, also known as the Quân
Lực Việt Nam Cộng Hòa, would rightfully bring these veterans
into a program that was meant to include them but inadvertently
left them out; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Senate and the Assembly of the State of
California, jointly, That the Legislature respectfully urges the
President and the Vice President of the United States and the
United States Congress to expand the Humanitarian Resettlement
Program to allow disabled veterans of the South Vietnamese Army
currently living in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam to enter the
United States; and be it further

Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of
this resolution to the President and the Vice President of the United
States, to the Majority Leader of the Senate, to the Speaker of the
House of Representatives, and to each Senator and Representative
from California in the Congress of the United States, and to the
author for appropriate distribution.