BIA ACCREDITATION
MHRO received Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) Agency Recognition and Staff accreditation for both the Raleigh and Greensboro office.
ADVOCACY
MHRO had two important advocacy trips to Washington, D.C. in 2008: March 27-28th and July 28-30th. MHRO organized and led both delegations with the latter including representatives from the NC Refugee Resettlement Agencies and the NC State Director of Refugee Services. On July 30th, the delegation had several U.S. Congressional meetings that included lengthy discussions with Senior Staff from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and NC Members of Congress. The group also met personally with NC Senator Elizabeth Dole and NC Representative Brad Miller.
The purpose of the meetings was to advocate for Montagnard refugee protection in Cambodia and Vietnam, to advocate for Montagnard legal emigration in the USCIS/DHS adjudication process, and to urge the U.S. government, in its refugee policy collaboration with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR,) to stop forcing Montagnard refugees back to Vietnam where they face imprisonment, torture, house arrest and police surveillance.
In the March meetings, MHRO met with U.S. State Department officials in the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM,) the National Security Council/White House personnel, UNHCR, and with the director and staff from the USCIS/DHS Office of International Operations Refugee Division.
On July 30, 2008 during the meetings with State Department officials and U.S. Congressional Members, the delegation presented written concerns and policy recommendations to the U.S. government and to UNHCR. The delegation believes these recommendations can assist in correcting the refugee crisis facing Montagnards who fled to Cambodia from Vietnam. MHRO will continue its intensive advocacy with the U.S. Congress and the State Department in the upcoming months.
MHRO HELPS FAMILIES TO RE-UNITE 2008
MHRO continues to work on behalf of Montagnard beneficiaries in Vietnam and those who have fled to the UNHCR site in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. MHRO has assisted a total of: 216 petitioners with I-730 petitions, 259 applicants with Green Cards( I-485) petitions, 90 petitions for citizenship (N-400), and 44 petitioners to apply for the I-130 . As a result, 170 Montagnards have received their green cards and 131 families with 510 children have arrived in the United States to reunite with their loved ones!
Immigration petitions are often challenging because of the multiple documents required by USCIS/DHS for legal emigration from Vietnam and the difficult situation that most Montagnards experience in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. Local Communist government authorities often make it very hard on Montagnard family members. In some situations, beneficiaries are harassed, threatened, imprisoned or persecuted in other ways just because they have a loved one in the U.S. MHRO works closely with the U.S. Consulate in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) Vietnam in making every possible effort to bring eligible family members to the U.S.
We won’t give up on families! In a few situations, it took over 10 years for MHRO to re-unite husbands and wives, children and parents. In these hard times, we always believed that with faith, hope, and perseverance, justice would prevail.
MHRO STAFF ATTEND NATIONAL IMMIGRATION TRAININGS
The Montagnard Human Rights Organization is committed to providing quality
immigration and advocacy services to the Montagnard people. MHRO’S intention was to expand our immigration knowledge and skills. Staff have attended immigration trainings in California, New York, and most recently in Miami, Florida for a May 17-19th, 2006 immigration training sponsored by CLINIC, the Catholic Legal Immigration Network. Staff members participated in workshops focusing on legislative policy advocacy, family based reunification, consular processing, asylum issues, religious visas, and other specialized workshops, which have impact on family reunification and legal immigration. MHRO received Board of Immigration Appeals Agency Recognition and Staff Accreditation in August 2008.
We believe these important immigration trainings have given MHRO additional tools to assist Montagnard beneficiaries in Vietnam and those Montagnard Americans who are trying to obtain green cards, citizenship and reunification with family members still remaining in Vietnam.
MHRO is committed to Montagnard FAMILIES and ALL REFUGEE FAMILIES BEING TOGETHER!!
MONTAGNARD EVENT IN GREENSBORO EXPLORES THE UN DECLARATION ON THE RIGHTS OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
On Dec. 13, 2008, the following invitation was extended to Montagnards:
EVENT: A small group meeting with selected Montagnard participants and the Montagnard Human Rights Organization staff, United Montagnard Overseas (UMO), and guest speaker will share information, seek your ideas and encourage discussion about the topics of Montagnard Self-Determination, Self-Governance and Models of Autonomy around the world. MHRO will share information about its research and the development of the legal document, “The Montagnard Framework for Freedom” and its efforts with the National Endowment for Democracy and the U.S. Institute of Peace. Print materials will be available at the meeting.
WHERE: The GREENSBORO CULTURAL CENTER Board Room in downtown Greensboro. 200 N. DAVIE ST. Greensboro, NC 27401. Park at Church St. parking deck on the lower level and access building or take the elevator from Davie St. entrance.
WHEN: SATURDAY, DEC. 13, 2008, 10:00 a.m.- 2:30 p.m. (*Note: Registration at 10:00 a.m. Meeting will begin promptly at 10:30 a.m. and will end on time. There will be a 30 min. lunch break. )
WHY: To share information, encourage discussion, exchange ideas, and to welcome Montagnard interpretations of freedom. We believe there is value in knowledge, tolerance, forgiveness, possibility, and learning about the experiences of other indigenous peoples in the world who have self-governance or who are struggling for their rights.
For more information: The Montagnard Human Rights Organization: 919-828-8185
The meeting took place at the Greensboro Cultural Center and there were approximately 200 Montagnards who attended. Rong Nay, Executive Director of MHRO, presented a power-point presentation about the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the implications for the Montagnard People of Vietnam. There was a panel with questions and answers from the audience. A young scholar from Duke University’s Center for International Development, Scott Sorrell, was the Guest Speaker. He spoke about the rights of indigenous peoples in Nepal and his personal experiences working in Nepal. He also commented on the Tibetan people and their struggle for independence and his experiences with Tibetan refugees.
Dec. 2008 MHRO Forms PARTNERSHIP WITH DUKE UNIVERSITY HUMAN RIGHTS CENTER
The meeting took place at the Greensboro Cultural Center and there were approximately 200 Montagnards who attended. Rong Nay, Executive Director of MHRO, presented a power-point presentation about the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the implications for the Montagnard People of Vietnam. There was a panel with questions and answers from the audience. A young scholar from Duke University’s Center for International Development, Scott Sorrell, was the Guest Speaker. He spoke about the rights of indigenous peoples in Nepal and his personal experiences working in Nepal. He also commented on the Tibetan people and their struggle for independence and his experiences with Tibetan refugees.