According to an immigration lawyer who was explained on the issue, Vietnam has pledged to promote the deportation of Vietnamese citizens facing removal from the United States, facing removal from the United States.
More than 8,600 Vietnamese citizens who arrived in the United States as refugees before 1995 are currently facing “removal orders.”
Changes in Vietnam’s attitude are seen as a response to US pressure. This includes tariff threats that could seriously damage Vietnam’s economy, one of Vietnam’s most export-dependent economies, particularly in trade with the US.
As part of the transaction, Vietnam has agreed to process its deportation request within 30 days. This is a major acceleration from a past where repatriation efforts are often delayed for months or years. Tin Thanh Nguyen, a US-based immigration lawyer, has also agreed to Vietnam to issue travel documents for up to 30 Vietnamese nationals currently in detention in the US.
The change follows a direct threat from US authorities, including Brian Hughes, a White House National Security Council spokesman who emphasized that all countries must either regain their citizens or face sanctions.
Vietnam’s Foreign Ministry did not respond to a request for comment, but earlier this month a spokesman confirmed the country’s commitment to working with the US on repatriation in line with existing agreements.
The diplomatic change saw more than 37,000 people removed in the first month of President Trump’s second term as the US strengthened its deportation. It is unclear how many Vietnamese citizens have been deported, but some have already been sent to Panama.
The willingness to comply with the US deportation demands is associated with the broader trade risks they face. Vietnam’s risk of facing tariffs due to its large trade surplus with the US could have a major impact on the country, the leading exporter of chips to the US, as the risk of facing tariffs on semiconductors for a long time has been likely to be a global tariff on semiconductors.