05/06/2026
DONATE TO SUPPORT VIETNAMESE RETURNEES & THE BA LÔ PROJECT: https://gofund.me/e1512b59c
"Since January 2025, a record number of Vietnamese have been deported. ICE has been arresting and detaining more immigrants across the U.S. to fulfill Trump’s goal of carrying out the “largest deportation program” in American history. From 1998 to 2023, an average of 44 people each year were deported to Vietnam. In 2025 alone, over 1000 persons were deported to Vietnam, and we believe that number will continue to increase.
The Ba Lô Project aims to provide deported Vietnamese Americans the support and dignity they need to start rebuilding their lives in Vietnam from day one. Our vision, grounded in the collective experiences of prior deported Vietnamese Americans, is to begin with a simple act of community care. We want to equip every person deported to Vietnam with a starter backpack filled with items like clean underwear, a change of clothes, medicine, socks, a toothbrush, a map, a modest stipend in Vietnamese d**g, and a smartphone—essential items that other Vietnamese returnees wished they had after being torn from their communities in America and dropped into Vietnam.
Your gift, no matter the amount, will provide crucial support to those being forcibly returned to Vietnam under devastating circumstances. And it will help us create the organizational infrastructure needed to sustain this mutual aid to returnees for this 2nd year. With the volume of pending deportations to Vietnam, we need to think long-term. Thank you for your solidarity and community care."
