Dear Mr. Chairman:
In accordance with the provisions of the Indochina Migration and Refugee Assistance Act of 1975, I am reporting to you on the status of refugees from Cambodia, Laos, and South Vietnam.
Though we continue to make progress in helping the Indochina refugees to become self-sufficient members of their communities, problems remain. I therefore have asked the Congress to extend the Indochina Migration and Refugee Assistance Act for three years with a gradual phasedown in program assistance. I am also concerned over the plight of Indochinese stranded on the shores of the South China Sea and in temporary Thai refugee camps. Therefore, at my request, the Attorney General has announced that he is using his parole authority to admit an additional 15,000 refugees into the U.S. I have also directed that an interagency task force be established to develop a longer term solution to the Indochina refugee problem.
As my report to you shows, a large portion of the Indochina refugees are independent and productive members of their communities. With the continued assistance of the private and public agencies that have contributed so generously to this program, I am confident that the adjustment to life in the United States will be made by the refugees from Indochina.
Sincerely,
JIMMY CARTER
Note: This is the text of identical letters addressed to the Honorable James O. Eastland, chairman, Senate Committee on the Judiciary; the Honorable Peter W. Rodino, chairman, House Committee on the Judiciary; the Honorable John J. Sparkman, chairman, Senate Committee on Foreign Relations; the Honorable Clement J. Zablocki, chairman, House Committee on International Relations; the Honorable John L. McClellan, chairman, Senate Committee on Appropriations; and the Honorable George H. Mahon, chairman, House Committee on Appropriations.
The report is entitled "Task Force for Indochina Refugees, Report to the Congress, September 21, 1977."
The letter was announced by the White House Press Office on October 6. It was not issued in the form of a White House press release.
Jimmy Carter, Indochina Refugees Letter to Six Senate and House Committee Chairmen. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/242715