Protecting Southeast Asian Communities

Across the country, Southeast Asian refugee and immigrant communities face devastating deportation impacts. Decades after families resettled in the United States as refugees, thousands remain vulnerable to removal because of old criminal convictions, many tied to the challenges of poverty, trauma, and lack of support.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the end of U.S. wars in Southeast Asia, making current deportation policies particularly heartbreaking. ICE deports some Southeast Asian refugees without due process to third countries in Africa and Latin America, places they have never lived and have no connection to. Those sent to Southeast Asia often don’t have support starting a new life in a country and culture that is foreign to them, or they barely remember it.

Community-based Southeast Asian organizations have been on the frontlines providing legal support, organizing for policy change, and helping families heal. Yet these organizations remain severely underfunded, limiting their ability to meet urgent needs and build long-term power.

This briefing brings together community leaders, advocates, and funders to discuss the current landscape of Southeast Asian deportations and the human toll on families. Together, we will explore how philanthropy can step up to resource Southeast Asian organizations, strengthen community resilience, and advance a more just and inclusive future.