Thousands of Vietnamese Refugees in the U.S. Fear Trump Will Send Them Back
The White House wants to deport many who thought they were protected by a 2008 agreement.
Illustration: Jonathan Djob Nkondo for Bloomberg Businessweek
At the Banh Mi Cho Cu bakery in Westminster, Calif., in Orange County’s Little Saigon, Andy Trinh, 42, the affable only son of the family that owns the business, worries as he works.
When U.S. President Donald Trump travels to Hanoi for a summit with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un scheduled for Feb. 27 and 28, he may seek to make progress on another goal: persuading Vietnam to accept Trinh and 8,700 other Vietnamese refugees the White House is trying to deport. Lawyers, community activists, and members of Congress have spoken out against the effort, calling it an unfair attempt to rip up a 2008 agreement, signed by former President George W. Bush, that was thought to protect the majority of the refugees from deportation. “I don’t think it’s right,” says Trinh, taking a break while his mother and sister wrap sandwiches. His father, a former South Vietnamese soldier who fought alongside the U.S. during the Vietnam War, slices freshly baked baguettes nearby.