In recent weeks, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have arrested Cambodian immigrants in California, as the Trump administration pressed forward with attempts to send immigrants who have deportation orders back to their home countries. Up to 100 Cambodians over the US could have been detained, community advocates claim.
The US government is continuing to work with the Cambodian government to create a reliable process for the issuing of travel documents and an acceptance of the lawful and quick return of Cambodians given deportation orders, an email from Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman, Lauren Mack states. ICE would not confirm the number of Cambodians arrested during recent weeks, but according to community groups, the figure is high.
Katrina Dizon, the immigration policy manager for the advocacy group, Southeast Asia Resource Action Center, said the number of arrests is over a hundred and that they have caused a great deal of fear within the community. She claims that her group has been fielding telephone calls about the arrest of Cambodian immigrants across the US, albeit primarily in California, for several weeks.
Cambodia has long been seen as one of the countries failing to offer full cooperation to US officials when it comes to accepting the return of their nationals deported from the US, with officials in the country often reluctant to issue the necessary travel documents. Last month, the US government announced US visa sanctions against Cambodia and several other countries because of their lack of cooperation.