85C - SUPPORT HUMAN RIGHTS VIETNAM

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MEMORANDUM To: City Council From: Mayor Miguel A. Pulido Ar*P Date: November 13, 2012 Subject: RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF THE VIETNAMESE COMMUNITY At my request, a Council agenda item (85) in support of the Vietnamese community will be placed on the November 19, 2012 City Council meeting agenda. Mayor Pro Tern Alvarez has also joined in sponsoring this item. The 85 item proposes that the City Council direct staff to prepare a resolution regarding official visits from the government of Vietnam to the City of Santa Ana. As you may know, after the fall of the Republic of South Vietnam in 1975, thousands of South Vietnamese refugees came to the United States with the assistance of U.S. Armed Forces to escape the tyranny of the communist regime of North Vietnam. Orange County was designated as one of several locations in the United States to serve as an entry point for South Vietnamese refugees. Santa Ana received the vast majority of these refugees and thus became the original birthplace of the Vietnamese community in Orange County. Today, Vietnamese residents constitute 7.1% of our City's population and continue to be an integral and thriving community in Santa Ana. The purpose of this resolution is to affirm our support for the Vietnamese community in Santa Ana who overwhelmingly reject the current dictatorial rule of the Vietnamese Communist Party, and to bring attention to the oppressive nature of the government of Vietnam. Additionally, the City of Westminster approved a resolution (attached) in 2004 which discourages delegations, trade groups, and officials affiliated with the government of Vietnam from visiting Westminster because of the risk to public safety these groups have brought to their City as a result of their oppressive regime. Since Santa Ana continues to be home to a significant Vietnamese population, joining Westminster in supporting a similar resolution is important to mitigate any potential public safety concerns that may arise as a result of visits by officials from the Republic of Vietnam to Santa Ana. I look forward to you supporting a resolution that will affirm our City's commitment to human rights and to the Vietnamese community by resolving that the Santa Ana City Council does not support or sanction high-profile visits by members and officials of the Vietnamese communist government. 0gue u l o Attachment c: Councilmember-elect Valerie Amezcua Councilmember-elect Roman Reyna 85C-1