After a couple of sweeps and arrests by the American Immigration Services in Lowell in 2008, organisation "Deported Diaspora" hold a booth at the Water Festival in August 08 to raise concern and awareness among the Cambodian American community about the issue of deportation. Since 2002, 187 Cambodian non-American citizens with a criminal record (even an old minor one) have been deported from all over the USA back to Cambodia. Some of the people arrested - and deported - have already paid their errors and rebuilt their life, often with a job, family and children. This makes no difference to the Immigration services.
On that day at the Water Festival, "Deported Diaspora" recieved more than 600 signatures of support. A lot of people expressed their concern - and shame - to have the American immigration services act the way it does. A full text story - in French and Khmer - about the deportation issue has been published online at this link: http://ka-set.info/actualites/cultures-et-societe/cambodge-lowell-massachusetts-deported-detention-deportation-immigre-immigration-citoyen-081008.html
Dimple Rana (left), one of the 4 co-founders of "Deported Diaspora". The organisation was created in March 2008 and holds regular meetings in the cities of Massachussets with Cambodian American communities to explain what has already happened and try to prevent it happening again. One of the most important thing is to have non-American citizen immigrants know their rights.
. .
See more stories about the Cambodian Americans in the archives of this blog! ..
