TAKE ACTION: Urge Congress to Support the Montagnard Community


November 29, 2023

Join us during Montagnard Advocacy Day on November 30, when advocates and Montagnard community leaders are traveling to Washington, D.C. to meet with their Senators and Representatives and urging them to support persecuted and displaced Montagnards in Vietnam and Thailand. Even if you are not traveling to D.C. in person, you can still make your voices heard.

The indigenous peoples of the Central Highlands of Vietnam, over 30 tribes often collectively referred to as Montagnards, maintain distinct cultural, religious, and linguistic practices that set them apart from Vietnam’s ethnic majority. During the Vietnam war, over 61,000 Montagnard troops fought alongside U.S. military personnel, saving the lives of thousands of U.S. troops. Following the war, many Montagnards have resettled in North Carolina, which now has the largest population of Montagnards outside of Vietnam.

Members of the Montagnard American community have expressed growing concern for family and community who remain in Vietnam. The government of Vietnam has recently increased religious persecution and repression of the Montagnard people, pressuring them to renounce their faith, arresting and detaining them, and expropriating their land. The U.S. Committee on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has documented particularly significant and disproportionate harassment of Montagnard religious groups. Hundreds have been unjustly imprisoned and some Montagnard Americans have been refused entry or subject to interrogation upon their return.

As repression grows more severe, an increasing number of Montagnards have fled from Vietnam to Thailand in the hopes of one day resettling to the U.S., but conditions in Thailand’s refugee camps are extremely poor, and despite recognition of eligibility from UNHCR, U.S. refugee processing has been slow to nonexistent. Montagnard refugees are at constant risk of 

In 2023, the Biden administration launched the Welcome Corps private sponsorship program, allowing U.S. communities to sponsor refugees for resettlement. Welcome Corps Phase 2 is set to launch towards the end of the year, which will include a “naming” phase that allows communities to sponsor particular refugees and could serve as a lifeline for Montagnard refugees if well-resourced and implemented effectively.

Congress must do more to bolster U.S. support for displaced and persecuted Montagnards, conduct oversight over the resettlement of Montagnard refugees, and urge the administration to condemn the persecution of Montagnards in Vietnam and nearby countries.

CONTACT YOUR TWO SENATORS AND ONE REPRESENTATIVE TODAY!
On the right-hand side, you can send an email to your Members of Congress.

Sample Script/Email: “My name is [insert name], and as your constituent from [City/Town] and a [person of faith/refugee/member of my community], I urge you to support the resettlement of Montagnard refugees in the U.S. and hold the Biden administration accountable for supporting Montagnards who are persecuted and at risk in Vietnam and Thailand. 

During the Vietnam war, over 61,000 Montagnards fought alongside U.S. military personnel, saving the lives of thousands of U.S. troops. Following the war, many Montagnards have resettled in North Carolina, which now has the largest population of Montagnards outside of Vietnam. Congress must support legislation to bolster U.S. support for Montagnards and other refugees, conduct oversight over the resettlement of Montagnard refugees, and to urge the administration to condemn the persecution of Montagnards in Vietnam and nearby countries. Specifically I urge you to:

  • Support Montagnards who are persecuted in Vietnam, including by:
    • Supporting and working to pass the Resolution Recognizing the Contributions of the Montagnard People (S. Res. 395), which would recognize contributions of the Montagnard people to U.S. Armed Forces, condemns ongoing human rights violations and religious persecution of Montagnards in Vietnam, and describes USCIRF recommendations to designate Vietnam a Country of Particular Concern for severe violations of religious freedom.
    • Calling for the freedom of wrongfully imprisoned Montagnards and urging the State Department to designate Vietnam as a Country of Particular Concern. Congress must exercise its oversight power to raise awareness of the ongoing persecution of Montagnards and to call for the immediate release of those who have been imprisoned for peaceful dissent and expression of their religious beliefs. 
  • Support improved and expedited pathways to resettlement in the U.S. for Montagnard refugees, including by:
    • Holding the administration accountable for strengthening the Welcome Corps private sponsorship program. Welcome Corps can expand our capacity to resettle those in need and to reach vulnerable populations like Montagnards that have faced challenges entering the U.S. refugee admissions pipeline. Congress must hold the administration accountable for ensuring Welcome Corps is implemented effectively and promptly and lives up to its promise as a valuable complement to traditional refugee resettlement. 
    • Strengthening the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) and expediting the overseas refugee resettlement pipeline. Congress must hold the administration accountable to address overseas processing delays and to establish more nimble, equitable, and sustainable resettlement processes. Congress can support USRAP through enacting robust funding for key refugee accounts like the State Department’s Migration and Refugee Assistance (MRA) account and the Office of Refugee Resettlement’s Refugee and Entrant Assistance (REA) Account, and cosponsoring legislation like the Refugee Protection Act (RPA), which would restore and strengthen the refugee resettlement program (including provisions that codify pathways to protection for those fleeing religious persecution and Countries of Particular Concern).

It is incumbent upon Congress to utilize its legislative, appropriations, and oversight powers to uphold human rights in Vietnam and strengthen pathways to protection for Montagnards and others fleeing persecution around the world. I urge you to support freedom and protection for Montagnards, robustly fund key refugee accounts, and hold the administration accountable for strengthening Welcome Corps and USRAP. Thank you.”

 

AMPLIFY ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Share this message with national leaders on social media! See below for sample posts, and see here for sample graphics.

@legislator: Congress can and must do more to uphold religious freedom and human rights in Vietnam.

@legislator: The Montagnard people of Vietnam’s central highlands are facing heightened religious persecution and unjust imprisonment. Congress must push the administration to honor @USCIRF’s recommendation to designate Vietnam as a Country of Particular Concern.

@legislator: it is incumbent upon Congress to hold the administration accountable for expanding the Welcome Corps private sponsorship program & strengthening USRAP to expedite refugee processing and family reunification.

Additional Resources: