This is a video letter addressed to the President of the United States of America Barack Obama, the U.S. Congress, the U.S. Senate, and the U.S. Supreme Court from a group of Khmer Exiled Americans (K.E.A.s).

Their previous video “My Asian Americana” was a finalist for the White House AAPI’s “What’s Your Story” video contest. They won the highest popular votes by a landslide. But the White House decided to disregard the votes and silence our voice in this election year. They formally refused to invite their movement’s representative to the event. This video was intended to be shown at that “Champions of Change” event at the White House.

Despite this treatment, they seek to inform the public of the devastating effects of so called “criminal alien deportation” which allows no appeal in the court. Many of the deportees, whom they began to call “exiles”, were living respectable lives after their incarceration, having their own business, going to school, starting their own family. And one day, I.C.E. (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) would come pick them up, detain them in some cases up to 2-3 years without any charge or trial, and sent them back to their supposed homeland, like Cambodia, leaving wives, husbands, fathers, mothers, and their young children in utter financial and psychological devastation. Often these K.E.A.s (Khmer Exiled Americans) had never seen Cambodia until they were escorted off the airplane by the agents at the Phnom Penh International Airport.

Watch more videos about deportations: Resident Aliens, Undocumented Students and the DREAM Act, Ordered Deported, Jose Antonio Vargas.

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