Application for Grants under Indochinese Refugee Assistance Program
Washington, DC: United States, Department of Health, Education and Welfare, 1975. Presumed first edition/first printing thus. Wraps. various paginations (approximately 30 pages). Receipt form to be sent in with application is present. Staple hole at fore-edge. Cover has wear and soiling. This type of material is very scare and few copies survive in private hands. This is an application package for transitional grants to local educational agencies if they met eligibility requirements that were outlined in the regulations issued in connection with the Indochina Migration and Refugee Assistance Act. It was possible to recieve up to $600 per refugee student admitted into the local school district. From Wikipedia: "The Indochina Migration and Refugee Assistance Act, passed on May 23, 1975, under President Gerald Ford, was a response to the Fall of Saigon and the end of the Vietnam War. Under this act, approximately 130, 000 refugees from South Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia were allowed to enter the United States under a special status, and the act allotted for special relocation aid and financial assistance. The end of the Vietnam War left millions of Southeast Asians displaced. In South Vietnam alone, the war had created over 6 million refugees from 1965 to 1971. Preceding May 1975, the United States policy for Southeast Asian refugee had been to assist by resettling them in safer areas of their home nations. As the war began to come to a close in early 1975, the State Department prepared an evacuation plan for U.S. forces as well as 18,000 Vietnamese refugees, but it quickly became apparent that this evacuation plan did not meet the incredible need of the refugees. When the South Vietnam government rapidly deteriorated in April 1975, President Ford authorized an evacuation of up to 200,000 refugees. The Indochina Migration and Refugee Act was enacted on May 23, 1975, and allocated funding for the evacuation and resettlement of Vietnamese refugees in the United States. Because of this act, the 65, 000 Vietnamese who had been evacuated by the U.S. military and an additional 65, 000 who had made their way to the U.S. on their own gained parole into the United States. To process the refugees, four temporary immigration centers were set up at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida; Camp Pendleton, California; Fort Chaffee, Arkansas; and Fort Indiantown Gap, Pennsylvania. Each refugee underwent a security check and could be denied admittance if he or she violated a social norm, had a criminal record, or had offenses that were political in nature. A team effort of dozens of immigration agencies aided in the resettlement process of those who made it past the screening, including the United States Catholic Conference, Church World Service, International Rescue Committee, Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services, the Tolstoy Foundation, the American Council for Nationalities Service, the American Fund for Czechoslovak Refugees, the Travelers Aid International Social Service of America, as well as several state and city service centers. [3] In 1975, almost 130, 000 refugees were paroled through this system, which finished its initial operations at Fort Chaffee in December of that same year. [4] While the first year of the Act had come to a close, it opened the doors for years of mass refugee acceptance. Although many politicians thought it appropriate and necessary for the United States to provide a safe haven for those denied their human rights, some questioned the fairness of the Indochina Migration and Refugee Act for several reasons. Some, mostly conservative republicans, argued that the refugees would never be able to assimilate to American culture and would detract from the value system already in place. Other legislators, like Representative Frank Sensenbrenner, were concerned with the price tag of committing so many immigrants, (roughly $1 billion per year) especially in a time of rising unemployment. [5] While many refugees were receiving financial assistance, economic success did not come easily and this usurpation of federal funding became an issue that not only lawmakers were paying attention too, but also the American public. Another group of opponents focused on the growing need of. Condition: Good.
Keywords: Vietnam War; Refugee Assistance Program; Grant Appliation; Educational Assistance; School Districts, Displaced Persons, Humanitarian Assistance
[Book #67772]
Price: $50.00