The Indochina Migration and Refugee Assistance Act of 1975

Congress's answer to the sudden arrival of refugees from Vietnam and Cambodia.

The law

In May 1975, weeks after the fall of Saigon and Phnom Penh, Congress passed and President Gerald Ford signed the Indochina Migration and Refugee Assistance Act. It funded transportation, reception, and resettlement assistance for refugees from Vietnam and Cambodia.

Extended to Laos

In 1976 the law was extended to cover refugees from Laos. It set the pattern for federal support of resettlement until the Refugee Act of 1980.