President Donald Trump is getting backlash from his own party against his administration's decision to try to deport some immigrants who entered the United States during and after the Vietnam War.
In a letter addressed to Trump Thursday, two Republicans representing Southern California condemned the effort. Assemblyman Tyler Diep and Andrew Do, chairman of the Orange County Board of Supervisors, said the policy of deporting refugees "will have a severe and irreversible human impact."
Diep and Do called on Trump to reverse course on his plan to reclassify immigrants who fled Vietnam and came to the United States as a result of the war that ended with the fall of Saigon in 1975.
"As Vietnamese political refugees who have become a county supervisor and a California state assemblyman, we are examples of how immigrants give back to this great country we call home," Diep and Do wrote. "We ask that you reconsider your policy regarding the repatriation of former Vietnamese refugees."
In 2008, the United States agreed to allow Vietnamese immigrants to stay in the country without fear of deportation if they arrived before July 12, 1995. The Trump administration wants to reinterpret the agreement to kick people out of the country if they were convicted of crimes.
Trump's actions could alienate Vietnamese residents in Orange County and other parts of Southern California that have traditionally elected Republicans. Democrats swept the area in 2018 congressional races, making the party even more vulnerable.
While the two Republicans said they understand that national security is a top priority, they said previous immigration policies were implemented because of "unique circumstances" of Southeast Asian refugees.
Diep and Do joined Democrats who have expressed similar concerns. Reps. Jimmy Gomez and Alan Lowenthal of California were among 26 House Democrats who sent Trump a letter Thursday decrying the president's immigration policy.
