Legal Background
Until 2001, such deportations were legally permitted under the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 but could not be effected due to the lack of an agreement between the United States and Cambodian governments; however, in March 2001, the two governments signed a treaty regulating deportation between the two countries. Cambodians who did not apply for United States citizenship suddenly found themselves liable to being deported even for the commission of misdemeanors, regardless of their green cards or marriage to US citizens.
Read more about this topic: Deportation Of Cambodian Americans
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