Bid to end US deportations
The government has decided to address the longstanding problem of Cambodians being deported from the US, with the Foreign Ministry saying on February 28 that they have already submitted a request to the US to stop all deportations of its citizens until a new agreement is negotiated. Both local residents and Cambodians in the US have long criticized the US policy of deporting Cambodians convicted of crimes and dumping them back in the kingdom, regardless of their knowledge or connection to the country. In 1996, new federal laws drastically expanded the scope of deportable offenses in the US. Under the new laws, any noncitizen sentenced to one year in jail or more was subject to deportation.
