Ủng Hộ Ngày Người Việt Tị Nạn, DB Georgia Ca Ngợi Những Thành Công Của Cộng Đồng Việt
DB Lynn Westmoreland (Cộng Hoà, GA) lên tiếng ủng hộ Nghị Quyết H.Res. 342. Ông nhấn mạnh những thành tựu của cộng đồng Việt tuy rất còn non trẻ ở Hoa Kỳ. Theo Ông, dân số người Việt năm 2006 đã lên đến 1.6 triệu. Ông ghi nhận người tị nạn Việt hội nhập nhanh chóng và thành công trên nhiều lãnh vực, và "quả vậy, chỉ cách đây vài tháng, người dân Địa Hạt Cử Tri 2 của Louisiana bầu cho một người Mỹ gốc Việt và gởi tác giả của bản nghị quyết này, Dân Biểu Ánh Joseph Cao, vào Quốc Hội.
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Mr. Speaker, in 1975, after the Vietnam War, a mass immigration to the United States of Vietnamese people began. These early Vietnamese immigrants were fleeing persecution by the Communists in power in that region of the world. They came to America, sometimes with barely the clothes on their back, seeking asylum and a better life.
Many of them can recount harrowing experiences in having to flee their homelands, some by boat, and others by land across Cambodia, Laos and Thai borders into refugee camps. In fact, over 2 million Vietnamese boat people and other refugees are now spread across the world, in the United States, Australia, Canada, France, England, Germany, China, Japan, Hong Kong, South Korea, the Philippines and other nations.
And yet despite these harrowing escapes from oppressive regimes, Vietnamese-Americans have made significant contributions to the rich culture and economic prosperity of the United States. Vietnamese-Americans have distinguished themselves in the fields of literature, the arts, science and athletics. In fact, just a few months ago, the people of Louisiana's Second Congressional District, elected the first Vietnamese-American and sent the author of this piece of legislation, Representative ANH ``JOSEPH'' CAO, to Congress.
According to Census Data, as of 2006, 72 percent of foreign-born Vietnamese are naturalized U.S. citizens. When combined with the 36 percent of Vietnamese born in America, a full 82 percent of Vietnamese are American citizens. Over half of all overseas Vietnamese are Vietnamese-Americans. What's more, there are well over 1 million people in the U.S. who identify themselves as Vietnamese alone or in combination with other ethnicities, ranking fourth among the Asian American groups.
According to 2006 Census Data, the Vietnamese American population has grown to 1.6 million and remains the second largest Southeast Asian American subgroup.
In light of the civic achievements of Vietnamese-Americans, I am pleased to support, and urge my colleagues to support this resolution, designating May 2, 2009 as ``Vietnamese Refugees Day'' in order to commemorate the arrival of Vietnamese refugees in the United States, to document their harrowing experiences and subsequent achievements in their new homeland, to honor the host countries that welcomed the boat people, and to recognize the voluntary agencies and nongovernmental organizations that facilitated their resettlement, adjustment, and assimilation into mainstream society in the United States.
