Creating a Home for Thy and his family
Donation protected
On February 26th, we rallied at Boston Logan Airport to welcome Thy Chea home. Thy was unjustly deported to Cambodia in August 2018, and after 18 months of fighting against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), he was finally able to return home to be with his family and meet his second child, who was born months after his deportation. He is the first Cambodian American deportee to return to the US on the East Coast, and the fourth returnee across the country. Upon Thy’s return to the US, however, COVID-19 created additional barriers and challenges for Thy and his family to restabilize their lives. We know that the criminal legal system and deportation machine continue to destabilize and upend not just the individuals impacted by deportation, but their communities and families, too. This has been heightened during the time of COVID-19, where Thy and his partner, Victoria, have needed to strengthen their resolve in finding a sense of security and stability for their family.
Since March, we have witnessed the devastating impacts of COVID-19 on the lives of our community members. These impacts have ranged from food insecurity, job loss and loss of means to support themselves and their families, housing insecurity, and so much more. Unfortunately, the timing of Thy’s return overlapping with COVID-19 has drastically slowed the process for Thy to get back on his feet and find work alongside his wife in order to support their family. Thy’s deportation and COVID-19 have continued to place an enormous amount of hardship on the family, where Thy’s wife is working full-time to provide for a family of four and Thy is continuing to be the primary caregiver for their two children.
From the time of Thy’s deportation and into the midst of the current pandemic, the family have struggled to find and secure long-term housing and have had to lean on their support network as they work to get back on their feet. We are raising money to support Thy and his family in securing long-term housing so they can finally begin to restabilize their lives and settle into a place where they can build a home for themselves and their two children.
BACKGROUND ON SOUTHEAST ASIAN DEPORTATION
Southeast Asians from Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam are the largest refugee group resettled in the U.S. due to the U.S. involvement in the war in Southeast Asia in the 1970s. Without much support, many Southeast Asian refugees were resettled into under-resourced neighborhoods and faced poverty, and faced high levels of surveillance and profiling. Young children were often bullied in school and the families have endured constant displacement and trauma. The targeting of Southeast Asians for deportations in Lowell, Massachusetts has the second largest Cambodian American population and has been hit hard by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids. From 2017 to 2018, deportations of Cambodians increased by 279%. However, we will continue to fight and organize to end all Southeast Asian deportations.
Since March, we have witnessed the devastating impacts of COVID-19 on the lives of our community members. These impacts have ranged from food insecurity, job loss and loss of means to support themselves and their families, housing insecurity, and so much more. Unfortunately, the timing of Thy’s return overlapping with COVID-19 has drastically slowed the process for Thy to get back on his feet and find work alongside his wife in order to support their family. Thy’s deportation and COVID-19 have continued to place an enormous amount of hardship on the family, where Thy’s wife is working full-time to provide for a family of four and Thy is continuing to be the primary caregiver for their two children.
From the time of Thy’s deportation and into the midst of the current pandemic, the family have struggled to find and secure long-term housing and have had to lean on their support network as they work to get back on their feet. We are raising money to support Thy and his family in securing long-term housing so they can finally begin to restabilize their lives and settle into a place where they can build a home for themselves and their two children.
BACKGROUND ON SOUTHEAST ASIAN DEPORTATION
Southeast Asians from Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam are the largest refugee group resettled in the U.S. due to the U.S. involvement in the war in Southeast Asia in the 1970s. Without much support, many Southeast Asian refugees were resettled into under-resourced neighborhoods and faced poverty, and faced high levels of surveillance and profiling. Young children were often bullied in school and the families have endured constant displacement and trauma. The targeting of Southeast Asians for deportations in Lowell, Massachusetts has the second largest Cambodian American population and has been hit hard by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids. From 2017 to 2018, deportations of Cambodians increased by 279%. However, we will continue to fight and organize to end all Southeast Asian deportations.
Fundraising team (3)
Kevin Lam
Organizer
Lowell, MA
Victoria Un
Beneficiary
Thao Ho
Team member
Chae Chun
Team member
