Bill Text: CA SCR96 | 2025-2026 | Regular Session | Chaptered

California Senate Concurrent Resolution 96

Bill Title: Southeast Asian Americans: resettlement.

Sponsorship: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 7-2)

Status: (Passed) 2025-09-18 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Res. Chapter 184, Statutes of 2025. [SCR96 Detail]

Download: California-2025-SCR96-Chaptered.html

Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 96

CHAPTER 184

Relative to the 50th anniversary of Southeast Asian American resettlement.

[ Filed with Secretary of State September 18, 2025. ]

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

SCR 96, Wahab. Southeast Asian Americans: resettlement.

This measure would commemorate 50 years since Southeast Asian refugees began resettling in the United States, honor their sacrifices, recognize their contributions, uplift the principles of second chances, rehabilitation, and intergenerational healing for Southeast Asian Americans who resettled in the United States and California, and resolve the Legislature’s continued pursuit of comprehensive policies for Southeast Asian American communities.

Fiscal Committee: NO

WHEREAS, April 17, 2025, marks the 50th year since the Khmer Rouge began its devastating reign in Cambodia, April 30, 2025, marks the 50th anniversary of the fall of Saigon, December 2, 2025, marks the 50th year since the abolition of the Lao monarchy, and May 1, 2025, marks the 50th year since the Hmong, Lao, and other ethnic minorities from Laos began their evacuation from Laos; and

WHEREAS, 2025 commemorates the 50th year of the beginning of the resettlement of Southeast Asian refugees to the United States; and

WHEREAS, Southeast Asian Americans comprise more than 3 million individuals in the United States and include, but are not limited to, the Cham, Hmong, Khmer, Khmer Kampuchea Krom, Khmer Loeu, Khmu, Lahu, Lao, Iu Mien, Montagnards, Phutai, Pnong, Tai Dam, Tai Deng, Tai Lue, Vietnamese, and ethnic Chinese with Southeast Asian heritage; and

WHEREAS, California is home to the largest share of Southeast Asian Americans in the country, with 35 percent of the Vietnamese American population, 34 percent of the Cambodian population, 25 percent of the Laotian American population, 33 percent of the Hmong American population, and 71 percent of the Iu Mien American population; and

WHEREAS, The United States intervened in Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam through direct military interventions and covert and clandestine operations; and

WHEREAS, The United States dropped millions of tons of bombs and dispersed millions of gallons of Agent Orange across Southeast Asia, with many Southeast Asians still impacted by the effects of unexploded bombs and the toxin; and

WHEREAS, More than 3 million individuals were displaced by war and genocide from Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam; and

WHEREAS, Between 1975 to the mid-2000s, the United States accepted over 1.2 million Southeast Asians escaping the Vietnam war, the Secret War and persecution in Laos, and Khmer Rouge genocide in Cambodia; and

WHEREAS, The resettlement of Southeast Asian refugees in the United States typically placed many individuals and families in communities with inadequate resources and resettlement support, and many of these individuals and their children experienced health and economic disparities; and

WHEREAS, Many Southeast Asian refugees have thrived and contributed greatly to the economic, educational, military, political, and social culture of California and the United States since their resettlement; and

WHEREAS, Southeast Asian Americans have built community and made their home across California in places such as Little Saigon in Orange County and Cambodia Town in Long Beach, as well as community enclaves in the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, Sacramento, the Central Valley, and San Diego; and

WHEREAS, Southeast Asian Americans are predominantly employed in production- and service-oriented industries in California, such as manufacturing, retail trade, health care and social services, and accommodation and food services; and

WHEREAS, Despite the success of many Southeast Asian Americans, many still face economic, educational, and linguistic barriers in the United States, in particular, a significant percentage of Cambodian, Hmong, Lao, Vietnamese, and other Southeast Asian Americans endure severe poverty, educational barriers, and unique health disparities as survivors of war and genocide; and

WHEREAS, One in two Vietnamese Americans and about one-third of Cambodian, Hmong, and Laotian Americans in California have limited English proficiency; and

WHEREAS, Southeast Asian Americans in California report median household incomes between $19,000 to $29,000 per capita, inclusive, which is below the California median of $36,000 per capita; and

WHEREAS, Four in 10 Southeast Asian Americans have public health insurance coverage in California; and

WHEREAS, Over one-quarter of Cambodian and Laotian Americans in California have less than a high school degree, higher than the California average of 16 percent; and

WHEREAS, As survivors of war and genocide, Southeast Asian Americans still face disparate health outcomes, including higher rates of physical, mental, and chronic health challenges, including 60 percent of Cambodians and a significant number of other Southeast Asian Americans who continue to experience post-traumatic stress disorder; and

WHEREAS, As children of the survivors of war and genocide, first and second generation Southeast Asian Americans have intergenerational, compounded trauma that has created poor mental health conditions and educational barriers; and

WHEREAS, Southeast Asian refugees were resettled into disinvested communities that were heavily policed, had under-resourced schools, and lacked living wage jobs and mental health resources, and as a result, many Southeast Asian refugee youth became entangled with the law and vulnerable to deportation; and

WHEREAS, Many Southeast Asian Americans with a final order of removal are United States residents who are more than 10 years removed from the time of their criminal convictions and have moved on to become pillars of their communities, homeowners, parents, caregivers, and tenured employees; and

WHEREAS, Deportation breaks up families and, in some cases, the deportees have never lived in their country of origin, do not speak the language of their country of origin, or do not have a living relative in their country of origin; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, the Assembly thereof concurring, That the Legislature commemorates the 50 years since Southeast Asian refugees began resettling in the United States; and be it further

Resolved, That the Legislature honors the sacrifices made by Southeast Asian American communities on behalf of the United States; and be it further

Resolved, That the Legislature recognizes the contributions of Southeast Asian Americans to the economic, educational, military, political, and social culture of California and the United States; and be it further

Resolved, That the Legislature uplifts the principles of second chances, rehabilitation, and intergenerational healing for Southeast Asian Americans who resettled to California and the United States as refugees from Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam; and be it further

Resolved, That the Legislature continues to pursue comprehensive policies that ensure disaggregated data, visibility, and equity for Southeast Asian American communities in California, including in education, health and mental health care, and language access; and be it further

Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.