View source for Vietnamese Americans

{{Short description|Americans of Vietnamese birth or descent}}
{{use mdy dates|date=December 2024}}
{{Infobox ethnic group
| group            = Vietnamese Americans<br />{{small|''Người Mỹ gốc Việt''}}
| native_name      = 
| native_name_lang = 
| image            = File:Americans with Vietnamese Ancestry by state.svg
| pop              = '''2,347,344''' (2023)<ref name="ACS 2023">{{cite web |url=https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT1Y2023.B02018 |publisher=U.S. Census Bureau |access-date=2024-09-21 |title=US Census Data }}</ref><br/>(ancestry or ethnic origin)<br/>'''1,365,841''' (2023)<ref name="USCB Census">{{cite web|title=PLACE OF BIRTH FOR THE FOREIGN-BORN POPULATION IN THE UNITED STATES, Universe: Foreign-born population excluding population born at sea, 2023 American Community Survey Estimates|url=https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT1Y2023.B05006?q=B05006:%20Place%20of%20Birth%20for%20the%20Foreign-Born%20Population%20in%20the%20United%20States}}</ref><br/>(born in Vietnam)
| regions          = {{hlist| [[Greater Los Angeles|Los Angeles]] and [[Orange County, California|Orange County]] | [[San Francisco Bay Area]] (esp. [[San Jose, CA|San Jose]]) | [[Sacramento, California]] | [[Greater Houston]] | [[Dallas-Fort Worth]] | [[Oklahoma City]] | [[Portland, Oregon]] | [[Twin Cities metropolitan area]] | [[Washington metropolitan area]]/[[Northern Virginia]]/[[Maryland]] | [[Seattle area]] | [[San Diego County]] | [[Metro Atlanta]] | [[North Carolina]] ([[Greensboro]], [[Raleigh]], [[Charlotte, North Carolina|Charlotte]]) | [[New Orleans metropolitan area|Greater New Orleans]] | [[Greater Boston]] | [[Philadelphia area]] | [[Denver]] | [[Honolulu]] | [[Greater Orlando]] | [[List of U.S. cities with large Vietnamese American populations|others]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://hmongstudies.org/VietnameseAmericanPopulationsbyMetroArea.pdf|title=Vietnamese American Populations by Metro Area 2010 Census|website=Hmongstudies.org|access-date=January 9, 2018|archive-date=May 25, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525134002/http://hmongstudies.org/VietnameseAmericanPopulationsbyMetroArea.pdf|url-status=usurped}}</ref>}}
| region1          = 
| pop1             = 
| langs            = [[Vietnamese language in the United States|Vietnamese]], [[American English|English]]
| rels             = [[Buddhism]] (37%) {{•}} [[Christianity]] (36%){{note|1}}<br /> [[Irreligion|Unaffiliated]] (23%)<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rotolo |first=Besheer Mohamed and Michael |date=2023-10-11 |title=Religion Among Asian Americans |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2023/10/11/religion-among-asian-americans/ |access-date=2024-12-17 |website=Pew Research Center |language=en-US}}</ref> {{•}} [[Vietnamese folk religion]] {{•}} [[Caodaism]] {{•}} [[Hòa Hảo]]
| related          = [[Vietnamese people]], [[Overseas Vietnamese]], [[Vietnamese Canadians]], [[Vietnamese Australians]], [[Asian Americans]], [[Chinese Americans]], [[Hmong Americans]]
| footnotes        = {{note|1}} Includes [[Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]] (29%), [[Evangelicalism]] (4%) and other Protestant denominations (3%)
}}

'''Vietnamese Americans''' ({{langx|vi|Người Mỹ gốc Việt}}, {{IPA|vi|ŋɯəj˨˩ mi˦ˀ˥ ɣŏk˧˦ viət̚˧˨ʔ~ziət̚˧˨ʔ}}) are [[Americans]] of [[Vietnamese people|Vietnamese]] ancestry.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761587517/vietnamese_americans.html|title=Vietnamese Americans|author=James M. Freeman|publisher=Microsoft Encarta Online. Encyclopedia 2008|access-date=2009-02-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090404195836/http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761587517/Vietnamese_Americans.html |archive-date=2009-04-04|url-status=dead}}</ref> They constitute a major part of all [[overseas Vietnamese]]. As of 2023, over 2.3 million people of Vietnamese descent live in the [[United States]], making them the fourth largest Asian American ethnic group.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-05-01 |title=U.S. Census Bureau Releases Key Stats in Honor of 2023 Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month {{!}} U.S. Department of Commerce |url=https://www.commerce.gov/news/blog/2023/05/us-census-bureau-releases-key-stats-honor-2023-asian-american-native-hawaiian-and |access-date=2024-12-16 |website=www.commerce.gov |language=en |quote="The estimated number of people of Chinese (except Taiwanese) descent in the United States in 2021. The Chinese (except Taiwanese) population was the largest Asian group, followed by Indian (4.8 million), Filipino (4.4 million), Vietnamese (2.3 million), Korean (2.0 million), and Japanese (1.6 million). These estimates represent individuals who reported a specific detailed Asian group alone as well as those who reported that detailed Asian group in combination with one or more other detailed Asian groups or another race(s)."}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Greenwood |first=Shannon |date=2024-08-06 |title=Vietnamese Americans: A Survey Data Snapshot |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/2024/08/06/vietnamese-americans-a-survey-data-snapshot/ |access-date=2025-03-10 |website=Pew Research Center |language=en-US}}</ref> The majority (60%) are immigrants, while 40% were born in the United States.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Greenwood |first=Shannon |date=2024-08-06 |title=Vietnamese Americans: A Survey Data Snapshot |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/2024/08/06/vietnamese-americans-a-survey-data-snapshot/ |access-date=2024-12-17 |website=Pew Research Center |language=en-US |quote="A majority of Vietnamese Americans are immigrants (60%) and 40% are U.S. born. California is home to the largest share of Vietnamese Americans (35%), with 16% living in the Los Angeles metropolitan area alone."}}</ref> The number includes people of other ethnicities such as [[Montagnard (Vietnam)|Montagnard]]s, [[Thái people (Vietnam)|Tai]]s, [[Cham people|Cham]]s, or [[Hoa people|Hoa Chinese]]. 

The Vietnamese American population grew significantly after 1975, when a large wave of [[South Vietnam|South Vietnamese]] refugees arrived in the U.S. following the end of the [[Vietnam War]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Batalova |first=Jeanne |date=2023-10-10 |title=Vietnamese Immigrants in the United States |url=https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/vietnamese-immigrants-united-states |access-date=2024-12-16 |website=migrationpolicy.org |language=en}}</ref> Today, over half of Vietnamese-Americans reside in [[California]] and [[Texas]], particularly in metropolitan areas like [[Los Angeles]], [[Houston]], and [[San Jose, California|San Jose]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Batalova |first=Jeanne |date=2023-10-10 |title=Vietnamese Immigrants in the United States |url=https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/vietnamese-immigrants-united-states |access-date=2024-12-16 |website=migrationpolicy.org |language=en |quote="Immigrants from Vietnam were highly concentrated in California (38 percent), followed distantly by Texas (14 percent) and Washington State (5 percent) in the 2017-21 period. Florida, Virginia, Georgia, and Massachusetts were each home to about 3 percent or 4 percent of the Vietnamese population. The top four counties for Vietnamese immigrants were three in California (Orange, Santa Clara, and Los Angeles counties) and Harris County, Texas. Together these four counties accounted for 31 percent of Vietnamese immigrants in the United States."}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Budiman |first=Abby |date=2021-04-29 |title=Vietnamese in the U.S. Fact Sheet |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/fact-sheet/asian-americans-vietnamese-in-the-u-s-fact-sheet/ |access-date=2024-12-17 |website=Pew Research Center |language=en-US |archive-date=April 30, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210430205733/https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/fact-sheet/asian-americans-vietnamese-in-the-u-s-fact-sheet/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==History==

=== Early arrivals (pre-1975) ===
The history of Vietnamese Americans is relatively recent. Early arrivals included both laborers and elites. Among them was [[Ho Chi Minh]], who later became a Vietnamese communist leader. He arrived in 1912 as a ship’s cook, although parts of his American experience may have been embellished.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wills |first=Matthew |date=2021-01-18 |title=The First Vietnamese in America |url=https://daily.jstor.org/the-first-vietnamese-in-america/ |access-date=2025-02-16 |website=JSTOR Daily |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Keith |first=Charles |date=2019 |title=The First Vietnamese in America |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/26594524 |journal=Sojourn: Journal of Social Issues in Southeast Asia |volume=34 |issue=1 |pages=48–75 |issn=0217-9520 |quote="The accounts of Nguyễn Tất Thành, known more widely as Hồ Chí Minh, of his early travels to the United States, recounted in official communist publications and to sympathetic American interlocutors during the 1960s, are inextricable from the charged politics and propaganda of the Vietnam War. In fact, other than the letter that he sent from New York, which may be the first documented presence of a Vietnamese in the United States, nothing about his claims can be corroborated, and core elements of his stories — notably his sense of solidarity with progressive forces in American society and politics — were likely embellished or even fabricated as part of communist efforts to cultivate political sympathy in the United States."}}</ref>

According to the [[United States Department of Homeland Security|U.S. Department of Homeland Security]]'s [[Office of Immigration Statistics]], the earliest recorded instances of Vietnamese individuals obtaining [[Permanent residency|lawful permanent resident]] (LPR) status in the United States occurred between 1951 and 1959, when 290 Vietnamese were granted residency.<ref name=":13">{{cite report |url=https://ohss.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/2024-03/2023_0818_plcy_yearbook_immigration_statistics_fy2022.pdf |title=Yearbook of Immigration Statistics: Fiscal Year 2022 |date=2023 |publisher=U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Office of Immigration Statistics |page=8 |access-date=2024-12-22}}</ref> These numbers began to grow during the [[Vietnam War]], with around 2,949 Vietnamese obtaining LPR status between 1960 and 1969.<ref name=":13" /> Between 1955 and 1974, about 18,000 immigrants from Vietnam were admitted to the U.S.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Gordon |first=Linda W. |date=1987 |title=7: Southeast Asian Refugee Migration to the United States |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.2050-411X.1987.tb00959.x |journal=Center for Migration Studies Special Issues |language=en |volume=5 |issue=3 |pages=153–173 |doi=10.1111/j.2050-411X.1987.tb00959.x |issn=2050-411X |quote="The history of immigration from Vietnam, Laos, and Kampuchea to the United States is brief compared with immigration from other Asian nations. Through the 1940s, only a few immigrants born in these three countries had appeared in Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) statistics since record keeping began in 1819. Annual immigrant admissions totaled no more than 55 during the 1950s, increased gradually during the 1960s from 100 to 1,000 by the end of the decade, and ranged from 1,500 to 4,700 during 1970-1974. Vietnamese comprised 97 percent of this flow. From 1955 through 1974, fewer than 300 immigrants were admitted from Laos, a similar number from Kampuchea, and roughly 18,000 from Vietnam (see Table 7.1)."|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

=== First wave of immigration: 1975 and the Fall of Saigon ===
The [[Fall of Saigon]] on April 30, 1975, which marked the end of the Vietnam War, triggered the first major wave of Vietnamese immigration, as many with ties to the United States or the [[South Vietnam]] government feared reprisals from the communist regime.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Dead Men Walking {{!}} American Experience |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/lastdays-deadmen/ |access-date=2024-12-22 |website=www.pbs.org |language=en}}</ref> 

[[File:South China Sea....Crewmen of the amphibious cargo ship USS Durham (LKA-114) take Vietnamese refugees aboard a small... - NARA - 558518.tif|thumb|right|alt=Vietnamese man hands a child to waiting American crewmen, photographed from above|Crewmen of the [[USS Durham (LKA-114)]] take Vietnamese refugees from a small craft in 1975.]]In the week leading up to the Fall of Saigon, between 10,000 and 15,000 people departed on scheduled flights, followed by an additional 80,000 who were evacuated by air.<ref name=":5">{{cite book |url= |title=American Immigrant Cultures: Builders of a Nation |publisher=Macmillan Reference |year=1997 |isbn=0028972082 |editor1-last=Levinson |editor1-first=David |volume=2 |pages=926 |quote="The first major wave of emigration from Vietnam consisted of those who left South Vietnam at the time of its collapse in April 1975. This group included the governing elite, those who had worked for the U.S. government, and the high-ranking military with their families. Some ten to fifteen thousand people left in the week before the collapse of the South Vietnamese government. In the beginning this was an orderly departure by scheduled flights... An additional eighty thousand were evacuated, mainly by aircraft, during the last part of April. The last group in this wave consisted of those who were picked up by U.S. Navy ships offshore. Altogether some 125,000 arrived in the United States from Vietnam in 1975." |editor2-last=Ember |editor2-first=Melvin}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Miki Nguyen's Story {{!}} Last Days in Vietnam |url=https://thinktv.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/amex27ldv.ush.chinook/miki-nguyens-story-last-days-in-vietnam/ |access-date=2024-12-22 |website=PBS LearningMedia |language=en}}</ref> The final group was transported aboard U.S. Navy ships.<ref name=":5" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Last Days in Vietnam: Refugees |url=https://thinktv.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/amex27ldv-soc-flag/last-days-in-vietnam-refugees/ |access-date=2024-12-22 |website=PBS LearningMedia |language=en}}</ref> Altogether, approximately 125,000 to 130,000 Vietnamese refugees were evacuated and resettled in the United States during the first wave.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Batalova |first=Jeanne |date=2023-10-10 |title=Vietnamese Immigrants in the United States |url=https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/vietnamese-immigrants-united-states |access-date=2024-12-22 |website=migrationpolicy.org |language=en |quote="The end of the Vietnam War and the rapid U.S. military pullout in 1975 marked the beginning of large-scale migration from Vietnam to the United States. The U.S. government evacuated about 125,000 Vietnamese that year, most of whom had close ties to the U.S. military and could have been persecuted by the new Communist government."}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bui |first=Daniel Hiếu Thuận |date=2023 |title=From Forced Relocation to Social Ascension: An Examination of Vietnamese Migratory Trends, Adjustment, and Social Advancement in America |url=https://escholarship.org/uc/item/8rs7q6kx |journal=UC Berkeley: Berkeley Interdisciplinary Migration Initiative |language=en |pages=3 |quote="By the end of 1975, around 130,000 Vietnamese and other Southeast Asian refugees (of which 125,000 were Vietnamese) were accepted and resettled throughout the country..."}}</ref><ref name="Rutledge1992">{{cite book |last=Rutledge |first=Paul James |title=The Vietnamese Experience in America |publisher=Indiana University Press |year=1992 |isbn=0253349974 |location=Bloomington, IN |pages=2 |quote="Following the fall of Saigon, the first wave of Vietnamese refugees, estimated at approximately 132,000 people, left Vietnam seeking haven principally within the United States."}}</ref>

After leaving Vietnam, the refugees first arrived at reception camps in the [[Philippines]] and [[Guam]] before being transferred to temporary housing at U.S. military bases, including [[Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton|Camp Pendleton]] (California), [[Fort Chaffee]] (Arkansas), [[Eglin Air Force Base]] (Florida), and [[Fort Indiantown Gap]] (Pennsylvania).<ref>{{cite book |title=American Immigrant Cultures: Builders of a Nation |publisher=Macmillan Reference |year=1997 |isbn=0028972082 |editor1-last=Levinson |editor1-first=David |volume=1–2 |pages=926 |quote="After departure from Vietnam, planned resettlement was mediated through reception camps, mainly in the Philippines. In 1975, this was followed by temporary housing at U.S. Army camps in Arkansas, California, Florida, and Pennsylvania. The refugees were then dispersed throughout the United States with sponsorship by individuals frequently associated with church or other voluntary charitable groups." |editor2-last=Ember |editor2-first=Melvin}}</ref> Following resettlement preparations, they were assigned to voluntary agencies ([[VOLAG]]s), which provided assistance in securing financial and personal support from sponsors in the U.S.<ref name="AsianAmerica">Wieder, Rosalie. "Vietnamese American". In ''Reference Library of Asian America'', vol I, edited by Susan Gall and Irene Natividad, 165–173. Detroit: Gale Research Inc., 1996</ref><ref name="AmeCulture">Nguyen-Hong-Nhiem, Lucy and Joel M.Halpen. "Vietnamese". In ''American Immigrant Cultures'', vol 2, edited by David Levinson and Melvin Ember, pp. 923–930. New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 1998</ref>

Most first-wave refugees were better educated, wealthier, and more proficient in English than those in subsequent waves.<ref>{{cite book |last=Rutledge |first=Paul James |title=The Vietnamese Experience in America |publisher=Indiana University Press |year=1992 |isbn=0253349974 |location=Bloomington, IN |pages=2–3 |quote="The characteristics of this first wave would prove to be distinctly different from subsequent waves of Vietnamese refugees. They were, by comparison, better educated, wealthier, and had political connections within the U.S. government. Many spoke English or at least had a working familiarity with the language. They included high-ranking soldiers, professional people who had worked with American personnel or companies in Vietnam, ethnic Vietnamese who had been educated within the United States educational system, and individuals who had family ties to America."}}</ref><ref name="AsianAmerica" /> According to 1975 [[U.S. State Department]] data, over 30% of first-wave household heads were [[medical professional]]s or technical managers, 16.9% worked in transportation, and 11.7% held clerical or sales jobs in Vietnam. Less than 5% were fishermen or farmers.<ref name="Gale">Bankston, Carl L. "Vietnamese American." In Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America vol 2, edited by Judy Galens, Anna Sheets, and Robyn V. Young, 1393-1407. Detroit: Gale Research Inc., 1995</ref>

[[File:Chantroimoi01.jpg|thumb|alt=Two women walk past a large sign in Vietnamese and English at an army base|Vietnamese refugees at Fort Chaffee, Arkansas, during the late 1970s]]The resettlement of South Vietnamese refugees in the U.S. initially faced mixed reception, fueled by fears of job competition, welfare strain, and cultural concerns.<ref name=":6">{{Cite news |last=Kneeland |first=Douglas E. |date=1975-05-02 |title=Wide Hostility Found To Vietnamese Influx (Published 1975) |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1975/05/02/archives/wide-hostility-found-to-vietnamese-influx-hostility-found-across.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240418062918/https://www.nytimes.com/1975/05/02/archives/wide-hostility-found-to-vietnamese-influx-hostility-found-across.html |archive-date=April 18, 2024 |access-date=2024-12-17 |work=New York Times |language=en |url-status=live }}</ref> According to a 1975 Gallup poll, only 36% of Americans approved of the resettlement, while 54% disapproved.<ref name=":6" /> 

Despite initial public reluctance, President [[Gerald Ford]] emphasized a "profound moral obligation" to assist the refugees,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Address Before a Joint Session of the Congress Reporting on United States Foreign Policy. {{!}} The American Presidency Project |url=https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/address-before-joint-session-the-congress-reporting-united-states-foreign-policy |access-date=2024-12-17 |website=www.presidency.ucsb.edu |quote="I must, of course, as I think each of you would, consider the safety of nearly 6,000 Americans who remain in South Vietnam and tens of thousands of South Vietnamese employees of the United States Government, of news agencies, of contractors and businesses for many years whose lives, with their dependents, are in very grave peril. There are tens of thousands of other South Vietnamese intellectuals, professors, teachers, editors, and opinion leaders who have supported the South Vietnamese cause and the alliance with the United States to whom we have a profound moral obligation."}}</ref> calling it a "great human tragedy."<ref>{{Cite web |title=The President's News Conference {{!}} The American Presidency Project |url=https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/the-presidents-news-conference-71 |access-date=2024-12-17 |website=www.presidency.ucsb.edu |quote="We are seeing a great human tragedy as untold numbers of Vietnamese flee the North Vietnamese onslaught. The United States has been doing and will continue to do its utmost to assist these people. I have directed all available naval ships to stand off Indochina to do whatever is necessary to assist. We have appealed to the United Nations to use its moral influence to permit these innocent people to leave, and we call on North Vietnam to permit the movement of refugees to the area of their choice."}}</ref> In response, Congress passed the [[Indochina Migration and Refugee Assistance Act]] of 1975, providing special entry status and $455 million in resettlement aid.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rep. Rodino |first=Peter W. |date=1975-05-23 |title=H.R.6755 - 94th Congress (1975-1976): The Indochina Migration and Refugee Assistance Act of 1975 |url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/94th-congress/house-bill/6755 |access-date=2024-12-17 |website=www.congress.gov}}</ref>

To prevent the refugees from forming [[ethnic enclave]]s and minimize impact on local communities, they were initially dispersed across the country.<ref name=":17">{{cite report |url=https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/sites/default/files/research/RefugeestoAmericans.pdf |title=From Refugees to Americans: Thirty Years of Vietnamese Immigration to the United States |last=Campi |first=Alicia |date=2005-06-01 |publisher=American Immigration Council |quote="In order to prevent 'ghettoism' by concentrating resettled Vietnamese in one geographic area, refugees were initially dispersed across the country. This deliberate scattering of the first influx of refugees did not last, as most eventually moved to California and Texas." |access-date=2025-01-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241213002607/https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/sites/default/files/research/RefugeestoAmericans.pdf |archive-date=2024-12-13 |url-status=live |url-access=}}</ref><ref name="AsianAmerica" /> However, within a few years, many relocated to [[California]] and [[Texas]].<ref name=":17" />

=== Second wave of immigration: "boat people" (1978–1980s) ===
[[File:35_Vietnamese_boat_people_2.JPEG|thumb|Vietnamese boat people awaiting rescue.]]
Between 1978 to the mid-1980s, a second major wave of refugees from former South Vietnam fled, primarily by sea on fishing boats, becoming known as "[[Vietnamese boat people|boat people]]."<ref name=":7">{{Cite journal |last=Vy |first=Tran Tinh |date=2018-11-12 |title=From diaspora community to diaspora literature: the case of Vietnamese boat people in Germany |url=https://brill.com/view/journals/bdia/11/2/article-p152_3.xml |journal=Diaspora Studies |volume=11 |issue=2 |pages=152–170 |doi=10.1080/09739572.2018.1485241 |issn=0973-9572 |quote="Following the first wave of refugee, which had started in the mid of 1975, the second large-scale wave of refugee began in 1978 and lasted until the mid 1980s. The migrants mostly fled by sea on fishing boats which gave rise to their name ‘The Boat People’. They were wide-ranging in social background, including members of the South Vietnamese elite, Chinese minorities, religious groups, non-partisan individuals and fishers."|url-access=subscription }}</ref> This group represented a diverse range of backgrounds, including South Vietnamese elites, former [[South Vietnam]] military and government officials, Chinese minorities, religious minorities, farmers, fishermen, and merchants.<ref name=":7" /><ref>{{cite book |url= |title=American Immigrant Cultures: Builders of a Nation |publisher=Macmillan Reference |year=1997 |isbn=0028972082 |editor1-last=Levinson |editor1-first=David |volume=2 |pages=926 |quote="Unlike the well-educated and highly skilled first group, this second wave was more diverse in terms of class origin. Many were semiliterate farmers, fishermen, and small-town merchants with little or no familiarity with large cities. There were also former military and government officials included in this wave. Many were genuine political refugees, but others also saw economic opportunity in leaving an impoverished Vietnam. They put to sea in available boats capable of carrying at least a few dozen people." |editor2-last=Ember |editor2-first=Melvin}}</ref>

Many fled persecution following the [[fall of Saigon]], where many South Vietnamese, particularly former South Vietnamese military officers and government employees, were detained in [[Re-education camp (Vietnam)|re-education camp]]s for political indoctrination, forced labor, and torture.<ref>{{cite book |last=Rutledge |first=Paul James |title=The Vietnamese Experience in America |publisher=Indiana University Press |year=1992 |isbn=0253349974 |location=Bloomington, IN |pages=63 |quote="Following the fall of Saigon, the Vietnamese government began a strategy of reconstruction which involved reeducation camps, new economic zones, and the nationalization of private enterprises. The reeducation camps were subtly disguised places of indoctrination and torture. Any refugee fleeing these camps was certainly understood to be a political refugee."}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Roos |first=Dave |date=2023-08-29 |title=How the End of the Vietnam War Led to a Refugee Crisis |url=https://www.history.com/news/vietnam-war-refugees |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241219085330/https://www.history.com/news/vietnam-war-refugees |archive-date=2024-12-19 |access-date=2024-12-22 |website=history.com |language=en |quote="South Vietnamese intellectuals and other potential enemies of the revolution were rounded up and shipped off to 'reeducation' camps, which were really forced labor camps designed to break the will of the South Vietnamese and indoctrinate them with communist ideologies. Many residents of Saigon, the former South Vietnamese capital, were forced to move to the countryside to labor on collective farms."}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Denney |first1=Steven |last2=Sagan |first2=Ginetta |year=1982 |title=Vietnam Reeducation Camps: 1982 |url=https://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~sdenney/Vietnam-Reeducation-Camps-1982 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241209025543/https://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~sdenney/Vietnam-Reeducation-Camps-1982 |archive-date=2024-12-09 |access-date=2024-12-19 |website=OCF Berkeley}}</ref> A significant number of boat people included ethnic Chinese, [[Hmong people|Hmong]], and other minority groups, many of whom were Vietnamese citizens.<ref name=":8">{{cite book |last=Rutledge |first=Paul James |title=The Vietnamese Experience in America |publisher=Indiana University Press |year=1992 |isbn=0253349974 |location=Bloomington, IN |pages=5 |quote="As a result of internal conflict, and renewed pressure by the Vietnamese government to expel ethnic Chinese peoples, including those who were citizens of Vietnam, thousands of persons fled to Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, and Indonesia. Ethnic Chinese, Hmong, and other groups who had small representative numbers in the first wave, suddenly began to emerge in overwhelming numbers."}}</ref> Notably, ethnic Chinese were specifically targeted for expulsion and accounted for 50% to 80% of the over 50,000 monthly refugee arrivals at Southeast Asian camps in 1979.<ref>{{cite book |last=Rutledge |first=Paul James |title=The Vietnamese Experience in America |publisher=Indiana University Press |year=1992 |isbn=0253349974 |location=Bloomington, IN |pages=5, 63 |quote="Among those defined as boat people were a large percent-age of ethnic Chinese. In 1979, when camps throughout the Southeast Asian region were handling more than 50,000 arrivals a month, fifty to eighty percent of the arrivals were ethnic Chinese fleeing Vietnam."}}</ref><ref name=":8" /><ref>{{cite web |last=United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) |date=2000 |title=The State of the World's Refugees 2000: Fifty Years of Humanitarian Action |url=https://www.unhcr.org/sites/default/files/legacy-pdf/3ebf9bad0.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240926055353/https://www.unhcr.org/sites/default/files/legacy-pdf/3ebf9bad0.pdf |archive-date=2024-09-26 |access-date=2024-12-22 |pages=82 |quote="In 1977, about 15,000 Vietnamese sought asylum in Southeast Asian countries. By the end of 1978, the numbers fleeing by boat had quadrupled and 70 per cent of these asylum seekers were Vietnamese of Chinese origin."}}</ref>

The boat people were often rescued up by foreign ships and transported to asylum camps in [[Hong Kong]] and Southeast Asia such as [[Thailand]], [[Malaysia]], [[Singapore]], [[Indonesia]], and the [[Philippines]]. From these camps, many were resettled in countries that agreed to accept them, including the United States, Canada, Australia, France, and others.<ref name="AsianAmerica" /><ref name="Gale" /><ref name="AmeCulture" />

Between 1975 and 1979, limitations in existing refugee admission laws required U.S. presidential actions to admit approximately 300,000 Southeast Asian refugees, including many from Vietnam.<ref name=":11">{{Cite web |title=Refugee Act of 1980 |url=https://archivesfoundation.org/documents/refugee-act-1980/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241216112309/https://archivesfoundation.org/documents/refugee-act-1980/ |archive-date=2024-12-16 |access-date=2024-12-22 |website=National Archives Foundation |language=en-US |quote="In the aftermath of the Vietnam War, the need for a change in American policy concerning refugees became apparent as hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese and Cambodians fled political chaos and physical danger in their homelands. Between 1975 and 1979, some 300,000 of these refugees were able to come to the United States through Presidential action, as the law at the time restricted refugee admissions. Seeing this, many members of Congress wanted to establish a more regular system of immigration and resettlement that would establish a clear and flexible policy."}}</ref> In response to the plight of Vietnamese boat people, Congress passed the [[Refugee Act of 1980]] to ease restrictions on refugee admissions.<ref name=":11" /><ref>{{cite web |title=Migration of the 'Boat People' |url=https://media.nationalgeographic.org/assets/file/vietnamese_MIG.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241117062607/https://media.nationalgeographic.org/assets/file/vietnamese_MIG.pdf |archive-date=2024-11-17 |access-date=22 December 2024 |publisher=National Geographic Society |quote="In 1979, the plight of the boat people made international news when the United Nations called a conference to address the situation. The U.N. persuaded the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and France to allow more Vietnamese refugees into their countries... In the United States, Congress passed the Refugee Act of 1980, allowing Vietnamese refugees to come directly to America if they had family in the U.S."}}</ref>

In 1979, the [[United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees]] (UNHCR) established the [[Orderly Departure Program]] (ODP) to facilitate legal emigration from Vietnam to the U.S. and other countries.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Kumin |first=Judith |date=2008-01-01 |title=Orderly Departure from Vietnam: Cold War Anomaly or Humanitarian Innovation? |url=https://academic.oup.com/rsq/article-abstract/27/1/104/1532948 |journal=Refugee Survey Quarterly |volume=27 |issue=1 |pages=104–117 |doi=10.1093/rsq/hdn009 |issn=1020-4067 |quote="In May 1979, UNHCR and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam signed a Memorandum of Understanding establishing a program for legal emigration from Vietnam, known as the Orderly Departure Program, or ODP. The ODP was intended to make it possible for persons wishing to leave Vietnam to do so in a safe and orderly manner, rather than having to join the ranks of the Vietnamese boat people. It is the only time UNHCR has extended its assistance on a large scale to help persons to leave their country of origin. Well over half a million people emigrated from Vietnam under the auspices of the program. The existence of the ODP made it possible for the international community to reach consensus on how to tackle problems relating to Vietnamese refugees and asylum-seekers at two major conferences, once in 1979 and another in 1987."|url-access=subscription }}</ref> The ODP initially succeeded in relocating an average of 16,500 individuals annually—over 115,000 people by 1986, including 50,000 to the United States.<ref name=":12">{{Cite journal |last=Robinson |first=W. Courtland |date=2004-09-01 |title=The Comprehensive Plan of Action for Indochinese Refugees, 1989–1997: Sharing the Burden and Passing the Buck |url=https://academic.oup.com/jrs/article/17/3/319/1571884 |journal=Journal of Refugee Studies |volume=17 |issue=3 |pages=319–333 |doi=10.1093/jrs/17.3.319 |issn=0951-6328 |quote="Although ODP succeeded in moving an average of about 16,500 people peryear in its first seven years (by mid-1986, more than 115,000 Vietnamese hadtravelled safely, legally and directly to receiving countries, including 50,000 to theUnited States) its full potential was thwarted by continued mistrust between theVietnamese and American sides. By late 1985 (and throughout 1986 and most of1987) the ODP was in decline as Vietnam halted new interviews until the USagreed to clear up a growing backlog of cases already interviewed by USprogramme officials and awaiting exit visas. Put simply, the United States wanted more people of higher priority: immediate family members of US citizens, former employees, Amerasian children, and, perhaps most significantly, current and former prisoners from re-education camps. The Vietnamese had other priorities, among them the continued exodus of Sino-Vietnamese."}}</ref> However, progress eventually stalled due to disagreements over priorities, as the U.S. focused on specific groups such as [[Amerasian]] children and [[Re-education camp (Vietnam)|re-education camp]] prisoners, while Vietnam prioritized the exodus of ethnic Chinese.<ref name=":12" />
{{See also|Comprehensive Plan of Action}}
==== Vietnamese Fishermen's Association Antitrust Suit ====
Vietnamese refugees in the [[Gulf Coast of the United States|Gulf Coast]] faced discrimination as they arrived throughout the 1970s and 1980s. White fishermen complained about unfair competition from their Vietnamese American counterparts. "Non-Vietnamese docks refused to allow Vietnamese American boats to dock, [and] wholesalers refused to buy shrimp from Vietnamese Americans." The [[Ku Klux Klan]] attempted to intimidate Vietnamese American shrimp fishermen, at one time having plans to burn Vietnamese shrimp boats.<ref>[http://news.asianweek.com/news/view_article.html?article_id=8f3bffe189a164998e5b57555b450aca] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060104195330/http://news.asianweek.com/news/view_article.html?article_id=8f3bffe189a164998e5b57555b450aca|date=January 4, 2006}}</ref> The Vietnamese Fishermen's Association, with the aid of the [[Southern Poverty Law Center]], won a 1981 antitrust suit against the Klan, disbanding the "private army of white supremacists."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Chin |first1=Andrew |title=The KKK and Vietnamese Fishermen |url=http://www.unclaw.com/chin/scholarship/fishermen.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307063020/http://unclaw.com/chin/scholarship/fishermen.htm |archive-date=March 7, 2016 |access-date=September 18, 2016 |publisher=[[University of North Carolina School of Law]]}}</ref>

=== Shifts in Vietnamese immigration pathways (post-1980s) ===
While Vietnamese immigration has remained relatively steady since the 1980s, the pathways for Vietnamese immigrants to obtain [[Green card|lawful permanent resident]] (LPR) status have changed dramatically. 

Prior to 1998, the majority of Vietnamese [[green card]] holders were granted LPR status on humanitarian grounds, such as through refugee or asylum programs.<ref name=":14">{{Cite web |last=Batalova |first=Jeanne |date=2023-10-10 |title=Vietnamese Immigrants in the United States |url=https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/vietnamese-immigrants-united-states |access-date=2024-12-23 |website=migrationpolicy.org |language=en}}</ref> In 1982, for example, 99% of Vietnamese immigrants received green cards via these channels.<ref name=":14" /> 

By 2022, this figure had fallen to less than 1%, or fewer than 100 Vietnamese. Instead, the majority of Vietnamese immigrants (87%) gained green cards through [[family reunification]], a rate much higher than the overall figure of 58%.<ref name=":14" /> About 12% secured LPR status via employment sponsorship.<ref name=":14" />

==Demographics==
{{Historical populations
|type=US
|1980|261729
|1990|614517
|2000|1122528
|2010|1548449
|2023|2347344
|estref=<ref>{{cite web |url=https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT1Y2023.B02018 |title=Asian Alone or in Any Combination by Selected Groups: 2023 |website=U.S. Census Bureau |access-date=2024-06-17}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bpsos.org/mainsite/images/DelawareValley/community_profile/us.census.2010.the%20vietnamese%20population_july%202.2011.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120904141615/http://www.bpsos.org/mainsite/images/DelawareValley/community_profile/us.census.2010.the%20vietnamese%20population_july%202.2011.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=2012-09-04|title=The Vietnamese Population in the United States: 2010|access-date=2013-07-06}}</ref>
}}

=== Population and distribution ===
As of 2023, nearly 2.4 million Vietnamese Americans lived in the United States, according to the [[United States Census Bureau|U.S. Census Bureau]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Explore Census Data |url=https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT1Y2023.B02018 |access-date=2024-12-17 |website=data.census.gov}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Batalova |first=Jeanne |date=2023-10-10 |title=Vietnamese Immigrants in the United States |url=https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/vietnamese-immigrants-united-states |access-date=2024-12-17 |website=migrationpolicy.org |language=en |quote="The Vietnamese diaspora in the United States was {{sic|comprised |hide=y|of}} nearly 2.4 million individuals who were either born in Vietnam or reported Vietnamese ancestry or race, according to tabulations from the 2021 ACS. People born in the United States accounted for 43 percent of the overall U.S.-based Vietnamese diaspora. This diaspora represented the 20th largest such group in the United States."}}</ref> with approximately 60% being immigrants ("foreign-born") and 40% born in the U.S.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Greenwood |first=Shannon |date=2024-08-06 |title=Vietnamese Americans: A Survey Data Snapshot |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/2024/08/06/vietnamese-americans-a-survey-data-snapshot/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241214112257/https://www.pewresearch.org/2024/08/06/vietnamese-americans-a-survey-data-snapshot/ |archive-date=2024-12-14 |access-date=2024-12-19 |website=Pew Research Center |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":10">{{Cite web |date=2014-02-04 |title=U.S. Immigrant Population by State and County |url=https://www.migrationpolicy.org/programs/data-hub/charts/us-immigrant-population-state-and-county |access-date=2024-12-16 |website=migrationpolicy.org |language=en}}</ref>

Vietnamese Americans have the highest naturalization rate among all immigrant groups.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Batalova |first=Jeanne |date=2023-10-10 |title=Vietnamese Immigrants in the United States |url=https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/vietnamese-immigrants-united-states#pathways_naturalization |access-date=2024-12-17 |website=migrationpolicy.org |language=en |quote="Vietnamese are much more likely to be naturalized U.S. citizens than immigrants overall. In 2022, 78 percent of Vietnamese were naturalized citizens, compared to 53 percent of the total foreign-born population."}}</ref> By 2023, 78% of eligible Vietnamese immigrants in the United States had become U.S. citizens, surpassing the 53% naturalization rate of the overall foreign-born population.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Shah |first=Neil G. Ruiz, Luis Noe-Bustamante and Sono |date=2023-05-08 |title=Appendix: Demographic profile of Asian American adults |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/race-and-ethnicity/2023/05/08/asian-american-identity-appendix-demographic-profile-of-asian-american-adults/ |access-date=2024-12-17 |website=Pew Research Center |language=en-US |quote="In addition, 64% of Asian immigrant adults were naturalized U.S. citizens in 2021. The naturalization rate varies among different origin groups, with Vietnamese adults having the highest percentage of naturalized citizens among the largest six at 78%. Filipino and Korean adults also have relatively high naturalization rates, at 76% and 69% respectively. A smaller share of Chinese immigrant adults (61%) are citizens. Meanwhile, Indian and Japanese immigrant adults have the lowest naturalization rates, at 53% and 35% respectively."}}</ref> In fiscal year 2024, Vietnam ranked among the top five countries of origin for new U.S. citizens, accounting for 4.1% of all naturalizations.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-12-16 |title=Naturalization Statistics {{!}} USCIS |url=https://www.uscis.gov/citizenship-resource-center/naturalization-statistics |access-date=2025-01-20 |website=www.uscis.gov |language=en |quote="Among the top five countries of birth for people naturalizing in FY 2024, Mexico was the lead country, with 13.1% of all naturalizations, followed by India (6.1%), the Philippines (5.0%), the Dominican Republic (4.9%), and Vietnam (4.1%). The top five countries of birth comprised 33% of the naturalized citizens in FY 2024."}}</ref> 

Geographically, Vietnamese Americans are predominantly concentrated in [[California]] (38%), [[Texas]] (14%), and [[Washington (state)|Washington State]] (5%).<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |last=Batalova |first=Jeanne |date=2023-10-10 |title=Vietnamese Immigrants in the United States |url=https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/vietnamese-immigrants-united-states |access-date=2024-12-17 |website=migrationpolicy.org |language=en}}</ref> [[Florida]], [[Virginia]], [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]], and [[Massachusetts]] each accounted for about 3% to 4% of the Vietnamese American population.<ref name=":4" /> Major hubs include [[Orange County, California|Orange]], [[Santa Clara County, California|Santa Clara]], and [[Los Angeles County, California|Los Angeles]] counties in California, and [[Harris County, Texas|Harris County]] in Texas, together making up 31% of Vietnamese immigrants in the U.S.<ref name=":4" /> 

The largest and oldest Vietnamese-American [[Ethnic enclave|enclave]] in the United States, [[Little Saigon]], is located in [[Westminster, California|Westminster]] and [[Garden Grove, California|Garden Grove]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Coats |first=Daniel |date=2024-10-04 |title=Understanding Little Saigon: Cal State Fullerton Economists Analyze the Largest Vietnamese Community Outside of Southeast Asia {{!}} College of Business and Economics at CSUF |url=https://business.fullerton.edu/news/story/understanding-little-saigon-cal-state-fullerton-economists-analyze-the-largest-vietnamese-community-outside-of-southeast-asia |access-date=2024-12-23 |website=business.fullerton.edu}}</ref> According to the 2023 United States Census [[American Community Survey]] (ACS), Vietnamese Americans account for 43.8% and 32.6% of the population, respectively.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Explore Census Data - Westminster City, California |url=https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDP1Y2023.DP05?g=160XX00US0684550 |access-date=2024-12-17 |website=data.census.gov}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Explore Census Data - Garden Grove City, California |url=https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDP1Y2023.DP05?g=160XX00US0629000 |access-date=2024-12-17 |website=data.census.gov}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Vietnamese Immigrants (Foreign-born) by County (2023)<ref name=":10" />
! Rank !! County !! State !! Population
|-
| 1 || Orange County || California || 152,500
|-
| 2 || Santa Clara County || California || 99,000
|-
| 3 || Los Angeles County || California || 97,100
|-
| 4 || Harris County || Texas || 75,400
|-
| 5 || San Diego County || California || 34,500
|-
| 6 || King County || Washington || 34,000
|-
| 7 || Sacramento County || California || 27,500
|-
| 8 || Alameda County || California || 27,000
|-
| 9 || Dallas County || Texas || 23,400
|-
| 10 || Fairfax County || Virginia || 23,200
|}

=== Socioeconomics ===

==== Education ====
Coming from different waves of immigration, Vietnamese Americans have a lower educational attainment than overall Asian American population but it is higher than other Southeast Asian groups and is also trending upward, with each generation more likely to attain higher degrees and/or qualifications overall than the generation prior.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Tran |first1=Vinh |last2=Paik |first2=Susan |last3=Kula |first3=Stacy |last4=Garcia |first4=Iraise |last5=Saito |first5=Erika |year=2021 |title=Vietnamese Americans: History, Education, and Societal Context |url=https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1201&context=jsaaea |journal=Journal of Southeast Asian American Education and Advancement |volume=16 |issue=1 |doi=10.7771/2153-8999.1201 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

As of 2019, 32% of Vietnamese Americans held a bachelor's degree or higher, compared to 54% of Asian Americans overall and 33% of the total U.S. population.<ref name="pewresearch.org">{{cite web |date=April 29, 2021 |title=Vietnamese &#124; Data on Asian Americans |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/fact-sheet/asian-americans-vietnamese-in-the-u-s-fact-sheet/ |access-date=2024-09-09 |archive-date=April 30, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210430205733/https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/fact-sheet/asian-americans-vietnamese-in-the-u-s-fact-sheet/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> Educational attainment varies notably between U.S.-born and foreign-born Vietnamese Americans. Among those born in the U.S., 55% have earned a bachelor's degree or higher, while 27% of those born abroad have achieved the same level of education.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Budiman |first=Abby |date=2021-04-29 |title=Vietnamese in the U.S. Fact Sheet |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-sheet/asian-americans-vietnamese-in-the-u-s-fact-sheet/ |access-date=2025-01-04 |website=Pew Research Center |language=en-US}}</ref>

==== Income ====
[[File:Phuoc Loc Tho.jpg|right|thumb|alt=Large building with pagoda-style arches|Phước Lộc Thọ ([[Asian Garden Mall]]), the first Vietnamese American business center in Little Saigon, California]]
In 2023, Vietnamese Americans had a median household income of $88,467, which was 9.7% higher than the national median of $80,610.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Explore Census Data |url=https://data.census.gov/table?q=S0201.&t=015:029:3796:3804:451 |access-date=2024-11-03 |website=data.census.gov}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2024-09-10 |title=Income in the United States: 2023 |url=https://www.census.gov/library/publications/2024/demo/p60-282.html |access-date=2025-01-04 |website=Census.gov |language=en}}</ref> 

As of 2022, around 11% Vietnamese Americans lived below the poverty line, a rate similar to the 11.5% rate for the general U.S. population.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ruiz |first=Ziyao Tian and Neil G. |date=2024-03-27 |title=Key facts about Asian Americans living in poverty |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/03/27/key-facts-about-asian-americans-living-in-poverty/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241217215540/https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/03/27/key-facts-about-asian-americans-living-in-poverty/ |archive-date=2024-12-17 |access-date=2025-01-04 |website=Pew Research Center |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2023-09-12 |title=Poverty in the United States: 2022 |url=https://www.census.gov/library/publications/2023/demo/p60-280.html |access-date=2025-01-04 |website=Census.gov |language=en}}</ref> This poverty rate has shown a gradual decline over recent years. In 2015, about 14.3% of Vietnamese Americans were living in poverty,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-09-08 |title=U.S. Vietnamese population living in poverty, 2015 |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/chart/u-s-vietnamese-population-living-in-poverty/ |access-date=2025-01-04 |website=Pew Research Center |language=en-US}}</ref> which decreased to 12% by 2019.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-04-29 |title=U.S. Vietnamese population living in poverty, 2019 |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/chart/u-s-vietnamese-population-living-in-poverty-2019/ |access-date=2025-01-04 |website=Pew Research Center |language=en-US}}</ref>

==== Employment ====
{{Pie chart|caption=Employment Distribution of Vietnamese Americans|label1=Management, Business, Science, and Arts|value1=36|color1=#4CAF50|label2=Services|value2=30|color2=#FF9800|label3=Sales and Office|value3=13|color3=#2196F3|label4=Natural Resources, Construction, and Maintenance|value4=4|color4=#9C27B0|label5=Production, Transportation, and Material Moving|value5=17|color5=#F44336}}In 2023, the [[Employment-to-population ratio|employment rate]] for Vietnamese Americans was 61.4%, surpassing the overall U.S. employment rate of 60.3% during the same period.<ref name=":20">{{Cite web |date=2024-05-30 |title=U.S. Labor Force Characteristics of Asians, Native Hawaiians, and Other Pacific Islanders |url=https://www.bls.gov/blog/2024/u-s-labor-force-characteristics-of-asians-native-hawaiians-and-other-pacific-islanders.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241128094349/https://www.bls.gov/blog/2024/u-s-labor-force-characteristics-of-asians-native-hawaiians-and-other-pacific-islanders.htm |archive-date=2024-11-28 |access-date=2025-01-20 |website=Bureau of Labor Statistics |language=en-us}}</ref> The unemployment rate was 2.8%, notably lower than the national average of 3.6%.<ref name=":20" />
Vietnamese Americans work in a wide array of occupations, with employment distributed as follows:<ref>{{Cite web |last=Batalova |first=Jeanne |date=2023-10-10 |title=Vietnamese Immigrants in the United States |url=https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/vietnamese-immigrants-united-states#age_education_employment |access-date=2025-01-20 |website=migrationpolicy.org |language=en}}</ref>

* Management, business, science, and arts: 36%
* Services: 30%
* Sales and office: 13%
* Natural resources, construction, and maintenance: 4%
* Production, transportation, and material moving: 17%

== Culture ==

=== Language ===
{{more|Vietnamese language in the United States}}
[[File:Vietnamese USC2000 PHS.svg|thumb|right|alt=Map of the U.S., with states with more Vietnamese speakers in darker blue|Spread of the Vietnamese language in the United States]]According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2019 [[American Community Survey]], approximately 1.5 million people aged five and older speak [[Vietnamese language in the United States|Vietnamese]] at home, making it the fifth most commonly spoken language in the U.S., after [[English language|English]], [[Spanish language|Spanish]], [[Chinese language|Chinese]], and [[Tagalog language|Tagalog]].<ref name=":9">{{Cite web |title=Nearly 68 Million People Spoke a Language Other Than English at Home in 2019 |url=https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2022/12/languages-we-speak-in-united-states.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241210165244/https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2022/12/languages-we-speak-in-united-states.html |archive-date=2024-12-10 |access-date=2024-12-19 |website=Census.gov |language=en}}</ref>

Additionally, the survey indicates that 57% of Vietnamese speakers reported speaking English "less than very well."<ref name=":9" /> This percentage is higher than that of Spanish (39%) and Tagalog (30%) speakers, and comparable to Chinese speakers (52%).<ref name=":9" />

English proficiency varies significantly between U.S.-born and foreign-born Vietnamese Americans. While 90% of U.S.-born Vietnamese Americans are fluent in English, only 35% of the foreign-born counterparts report the same level of proficiency.<ref name="pewresearch.org" />

==== Linguistic differences ====
[[English language|English]] relies on tonal inflection sparingly, primarily to convey questions, whereas [[Vietnamese language|Vietnamese]] is a [[Tone (linguistics)|tonal language]] in which the tone of a word determines its meaning. For example, the [[syllable]] ''ma'' can have different meanings depending on its tone, as marked by [[Diacritic|diacritics]]:

* ''ma'': "ghost"
* ''mà'': "but"
* ''mã'': "code"
* ''mạ'': "rice plant"
* ''má'': "cheek"
* ''mả'': "tomb"<ref name="AsianAmerica" />

Another key difference between Vietnamese and English is the extensive use of relationship-specific [[Pronoun|pronouns]] in Vietnamese. English employs "[[you]]" as a universal second-person singular pronoun, regardless of age, gender, or relationship. In contrast, Vietnamese employs different pronouns depending on factors like the person's age, gender (''anh'' or ''chị''), and relationship (''bạn'', ''cậu'', or ''mày'').<ref name="Gale" />

=== Religion ===
{{Pie chart|caption=Religious affiliation of Vietnamese Americans (2023)<ref>{{cite web |title=Religion Among Asian Americans |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2023/10/11/religion-among-asian-americans/ |website=Pew Research Center |date=October 11, 2023 |access-date=June 17, 2024}}</ref>|label1=Buddhist|value1=37|color1=#FFB347|label2=Christian|value2=36|color2=#77DD77|label3=Religiously unaffiliated|value3=23|color3=#779ECB|label4=Other faith|value4=2|color4=#E57373|label5=Muslim|value5=1|color5=#CFCFC4|label6=No answer|value6=3|color6=#F49AC1}}According to the Pew Research Center, 37% of Vietnamese Americans identify as [[Buddhism|Buddhist]], 36% as [[Christians|Christian]], and 23% have no religious affiliation, while smaller proportions adhere to other faiths (2%), identify as [[Muslims|Muslim]] (<1%), or did not provide an answer (3%).<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rotolo |first=Besheer Mohamed and Michael |date=2023-10-11 |title=Religion Among Asian Americans |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2023/10/11/religion-among-asian-americans/ |access-date=2024-12-17 |website=Pew Research Center |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last=Greenwood |first=Shannon |date=2024-08-06 |title=Vietnamese Americans: A Survey Data Snapshot |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/race-and-ethnicity/2024/08/06/vietnamese-americans-a-survey-data-snapshot/ |access-date=2024-12-17 |website=Pew Research Center |language=en-US}}</ref> 

In 2024, Vietnamese Americans are more likely to identify as [[Christianity|Christian]] compared to those in Vietnam. While Christians, primarily [[Roman Catholicism|Roman Catholics]], make up about 10% of Vietnam's population,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lesage |first=Jonathan Evans, Alan Cooperman, Kelsey Jo Starr, Manolo Corichi, William Miner and Kirsten |date=2024-06-17 |title=1. Religious landscape and change |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2024/06/17/religious-landscape-and-change-in-east-asia/ |access-date=2024-12-17 |website=Pew Research Center |language=en-US}}</ref> they make up approximately 36% of the Vietnamese American population.<ref name=":3" /> Due to hostility between Communists and Catholics in Vietnam, many Catholics fled the country after the Communist takeover, and many Catholic Churches had sponsored them to the United States.<ref name="Vietnamese-American">{{cite web |title=Vietnamese-American |url=https://www.everyculture.com/multi/Sr-Z/Vietnamese-Americans.html |publisher=EveryCulture}}</ref> 

Many practice [[Mahayana|Mahayana Buddhism]],<ref name="AsianAmerica" /><ref name="Gale" /> [[Taoism]], [[Confucianism]] and [[animism|animist practices]] (including [[ancestor worship|ancestor veneration]]) influenced by [[Chinese folk religion]].<ref name="Pew">{{citation |title=ASIAN AMERICANS: A MOSAIC OF FAITHS |year=2012 |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2012/07/19/asian-americans-a-mosaic-of-faiths-religious-affiliation/ |access-date=2023-10-03}}</ref> Vietnamese are a major ethnic group notable among Asian [[Catholic Church in the United States|American Catholics]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=Hoang |first=Tuan |date=2019 |title=Ultramontanism, Nationalism, and the Fall of Saigon: Historicizing the Vietnamese American Catholic Experience |journal=American Catholic Studies |volume=130 |issue=1 |pages=1–36 |doi=10.1353/acs.2019.0014 |s2cid=166860652}}</ref> [[Hòa Hảo]] and [[Caodaism]] are two of the other religions of Vietnamese Americans.

There are 150 to 165 Vietnamese Buddhist temples in the United States, with most observing a mixture of [[Pure Land Buddhism|Pure Land]] (Tịnh Độ Tông) and [[Zen]] (Thiền) doctrines and practices.<ref name="laderman">{{cite book |last=Laderman |first=Gary |url=https://archive.org/details/religionamerican00lade |title=Religion and American cultures |author2=Luis D. León |publisher=ABC-CLIO |year=2003 |isbn=978-1-57607-238-7 |page=[https://archive.org/details/religionamerican00lade/page/n78 60] |url-access=limited}}</ref><ref name="preb">{{cite book |last=Prebish |first=Charles S. |title=Buddhism—the American Experience |date=December 1, 2003 |publisher=JBE Online Books |isbn=978-0-9747055-0-7 |pages=68–69}}</ref> Most temples are small, consisting of a converted house with one or two resident monks or nuns.<ref name="laderman" /> Two of the most prominent figures in Vietnamese American Buddhism are [[Thich Thien-An]] and [[Thich Nhat Hanh]].<ref name="preb" /> There are also Theravada-based Vietnamese temples like [[Chua Buu Mon]] in Port Arthur, Texas.

=== Cuisine ===
[[File:Phở bò (39425047901).jpg|thumb|Phở]]
[[File:Bánh mì thịt nướng.png|thumb|Bánh mì]]
[[File:Sriracha direct from the factory - Huy Fong Foods Sriracha sauce 2014.jpg|thumb|Huy Fong sriracha]]
Vietnamese immigration to the United States post-Vietnam War (1975) profoundly influenced American cuisine.<ref name=":15">{{Cite web |last=Trinh |first=Jean |date=2017-11-29 |title=Vietnamese Immigration and Its Culinary Influence on the United States |url=https://www.pbssocal.org/shows/the-migrant-kitchen/vietnamese-immigration-and-its-culinary-influence-on-the-united-states |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250104210233/https://www.pbssocal.org/shows/the-migrant-kitchen/vietnamese-immigration-and-its-culinary-influence-on-the-united-states |archive-date=2025-01-04 |access-date=2025-01-04 |website=PBS SoCal |language=en}}</ref> Vietnamese Americans opened restaurants to preserve traditions and support families, introducing iconic dishes like ''[[Pho|phở]]'', ''[[bánh mì]]'', and ''[[gỏi cuốn]],'' which have since become widely popular and embraced across the country.<ref name=":15" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Varriano |first=Jackie |date=2024-04-27 |title=How Seattle became a hot spot for Vietnamese food |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/life/food-drink/how-seattle-became-a-hot-spot-for-vietnamese-cuisine/ |access-date=2025-01-04 |website=The Seattle Times |language=en-US}}</ref>

Alongside traditional dishes, Vietnamese Americans have introduced notable fusion creations. [[Garlic Noodles|Garlic noodles]], introduced in the 1970s, blend Vietnamese flavors with Italian pasta.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Saxe |first=Lizzy |date=2019-05-13 |title=Selling Garlic Noodles to the Rich and Famous |url=https://www.eater.com/2019/5/13/18535890/helene-an-crustacean-thanh-long-smithsonian-award-fusion-cuisine-vietnamese |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241213213022/https://www.eater.com/2019/5/13/18535890/helene-an-crustacean-thanh-long-smithsonian-award-fusion-cuisine-vietnamese |archive-date=2024-12-13 |access-date=2025-01-04 |website=Eater |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Tsai |first=Luke |date=2021-10-10 |title=How Garlic Noodles Became One of the Bay Area's Most Iconic Foods |url=https://www.kqed.org/arts/13900855/garlic-noodles-sf-bay-area-iconic-foods-thanh-long-smellys |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250103041658/https://www.kqed.org/arts/13900855/garlic-noodles-sf-bay-area-iconic-foods-thanh-long-smellys |archive-date=2025-01-03 |access-date=January 4, 2025 |website=KQED}}</ref> [[Huy Fong sriracha|Huy Fong sriracha sauce]], created in 1980 by a Vietnamese refugee, was originally made for the Vietnamese and other Asian immigrant communities but has since gained nationwide popularity, becoming a staple in U.S. kitchens.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Han |first=Yoonji |date=2022-12-11 |title=How a refugee from Vietnam ignited the sriracha phenomenon in America |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/sriracha-david-tran-huy-fong-immigration-food-history-aapi-2022-12 |access-date=2025-01-14 |website=Business Insider |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Heasman |first=Chris |date=2020-05-05 |title=The Untold Truth Of Huy Fong Sriracha |url=https://www.mashed.com/207051/the-untold-truth-of-huy-fong-sriracha/ |access-date=2025-01-14 |website=Mashed |language=en-US}}</ref>

Viet-Cajun cuisine is another prominent example of fusion, which has flourished in [[Gulf Coast of the United States|Gulf Coast]] regions like Louisiana and Texas.<ref name=":15" /> Vietnamese Americans in these areas integrated Vietnamese and Cajun culinary elements, creating dishes such as crawfish boils infused with lemongrass, garlic, and other Vietnamese seasonings.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Corliss |first=Rob |date=2023-11-15 |title=Exploring the Viet-Cajun Trend |url=https://www.getflavor.com/exploring-the-viet-cajun-trend/ |access-date=2025-01-04 |website=Flavor & The Menu |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Nguyen |first=Nini |date=2023-02-24 |title=How Viet-Cajun Cuisine Came to Be |url=https://www.foodandwine.com/how-the-vietnamese-diaspora-created-a-whole-new-cuisine-7113427 |access-date=2025-01-04 |website=Food & Wine |language=en}}</ref>

=== Festivals and celebrations ===
Vietnamese Americans continue to celebrate [[Vietnamese calendar|Vietnamese lunar calendar]] holidays, with ''[[Tết]]'' (Vietnamese New Year) being the most significant.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Tran |first=Emi Tuyetnhi |date=2024-02-07 |title=More Asian Americans say they're taking off Lunar New Year, even though it's not a company holiday |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/lunar-new-year-holiday-rcna136789 |access-date=2025-01-11 |website=NBC News |language=en |quote="Ryan Đoan-Nguyễn, a Vietnamese American, said Tết, or Vietnamese New Year, is the most important time of year for his family. Đoan-Nguyễn, who is working at an immigration and refugee legal clinic at Harvard Law School, said he plans his work commitments around the holiday, guaranteeing that he will be able to go home to join the festivities."}}</ref> Festivities include activities like ''[[Bầu cua cá cọp|bầu cua tôm cá]]'' (dice games), ''[[Lion dance#Vietnamese Lion|múa lân]]'' (lion dances), the exchange of ''[[Red envelope#Vietnam|lì xì]]'' (red envelopes), and sharing festive meals featuring dishes such as ''[[bánh chưng]], [[bánh tét]],'' and ''mứt'' (candied fruit).<ref>{{Cite news |last=Nguyen |first=Andrea |date=2021-01-29 |title=Tet Is Full of Traditions, but You Can Have It Your Way |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/29/dining/tet-vietnamese-recipes-lunar-new-year.html |access-date=2025-01-05 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Tonthat |first=Steven |date=2023-01-24 |title=Oregon's Vietnamese families reflect on how and why they celebrate Tết |url=https://www.opb.org/article/2023/01/24/oregon-vietnamese-families-tet-lunar-new-year-2023/ |access-date=2025-01-05 |website=opb |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":16">{{Cite web |title=Tet, A Celebration of Rebirth : Asian-Nation :: Asian American History, Demographics, & Issues |url=https://www.asian-nation.org/tet.shtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250105005332/https://www.asian-nation.org/tet.shtml |archive-date=2025-01-05 |access-date=2025-01-05 |website=www.asian-nation.org}}</ref>

In recent years, [[Lunar New Year]], which includes ''[[Tết]]'', has gained recognition in the U.S. [[California]] (2022), [[Colorado]] (2023), and [[Washington (state)|Washington State]] (2024) have officially designated it as a state holiday, while [[New York (state)|New York]] declared it a school holiday in 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bellamy-Walker |first=Tat |date=2024-03-14 |title=Lunar New Year becomes a recognized holiday in WA |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/life/culture/lunar-new-year-becomes-a-recognized-a-holiday-in-washington/ |access-date=2025-01-11 |website=The Seattle Times |language=en-US |quote="Washington now joins Colorado and California, which mark Lunar New Year as an official, but unpaid, holiday. In recent years, New York state and Philadelphia began recognizing it as a public school holiday..."}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-02-07 |title=More Asian Americans say they're taking off Lunar New Year, even though it's not a company holiday |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/lunar-new-year-holiday-rcna136789 |access-date=2025-01-11 |website=NBC News |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-09-12 |title=New York adds Lunar New Year as public school holiday |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/new-york-adds-lunar-new-year-public-school-holiday-rcna104640 |access-date=2025-01-11 |website=NBC News |language=en}}</ref>

{{lang|vi|[[Tết Trung Thu]]}}, or the [[Mid-Autumn Festival]], is also widely celebrated by Vietnamese Americans. Much like ''[[Tết]]'', cities with sizable Vietnamese communities often organize large-scale ''Tết Trung Thu'' festivities that include lion dances, traditional performances, and community-centered activities.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-09-13 |title=Viet Cultural Fest pays homage to the Year of the Dragon in this year's event at NRG Center |url=https://abc13.com/post/houstons-viet-cultural-fest-arrives-back-3rd-year-nrg-center-theme-honoring-dragon/15299433/ |access-date=2025-01-11 |website=ABC13 Houston |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Uber |first=Emma |date=14 September 2024 |title=Vietnamese community celebrates Moon Festival at Eden Center |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2024/09/14/moon-festival-eden-center/ |access-date=11 January 2025 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref><ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.voatiengviet.com/a/tet-trung-thu-ron-rang-o-little-saigon/7782728.html |title=Tết Trung Thu rộn ràng ở Little Saigon |date=2024-09-13 |language=vi |access-date=2025-01-11 |via=www.voatiengviet.com}}</ref> The festival is known for its iconic [[Mooncake|mooncakes]] and colorful [[Mid-Autumn Festival#Lanterns|lanterns]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Thomas |first=Kayleigh |date=2024-09-15 |title=Springfield Vietnamese Cultural Association hosts traditional Moon Festival |url=https://www.wwlp.com/news/local-news/hampden-county/springfield-vietnamese-cultural-association-hosts-traditional-moon-festival/ |access-date=2025-01-11 |website=WWLP}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Lawson |first=Luke |title=Vietnamese Culture Celebrated through the Mid-Autumn Festival - The Daily Helmsman |url=https://www.dailyhelmsman.com/article/2024/10/vietnamese-culture-celebrated-through-the-mid-autumn-festival |access-date=2025-01-12 |website=www.dailyhelmsman.com |language=en-US}}</ref>

== Politics ==
[[File:Vietcommunity rose festival 02.jpg|thumb|alt="Freedom Bird" parade float, ridden by women and children|Vietnamese community float at the [[Portland Rose Festival]] parade]]
=== Political preferences and generational differences ===
Vietnamese Americans, shaped by a history of fleeing [[communism]] as refugees, tend to lean [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] (51%) more than any other Asian American group.<ref name=":18">{{Cite news |last=Venkataramanan |first=Meena |date=July 3, 2023 |title=Why are Vietnamese the most Republican-leaning Asian Americans? |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2023/07/03/vietnamese-republican-democrat-politics-vote/ |access-date=2025-01-12 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Greenwood |first=Shannon |date=2024-08-06 |title=Vietnamese Americans: A Survey Data Snapshot |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/2024/08/06/vietnamese-americans-a-survey-data-snapshot/ |access-date=2025-01-12 |website=Pew Research Center |language=en-US |quote="Vietnamese Americans who are registered to vote are somewhat more likely to identify with or lean toward the Republican Party than the Democratic Party. About half (51%) are Republicans or lean Republican, while 42% are Democrats or lean Democratic."}}</ref> However, younger Vietnamese Americans are increasingly shifting toward the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]].<ref name=":18" /> Among voters aged 50 and older, 68% identified with or leaned Republican, while 58% of younger voters identified with or leaned Democratic.<ref name=":18" /> 

Many older, first-generation Vietnamese American refugees who fled communist rule after the [[Vietnam War]] exhibit strong [[patriotism]] toward the United States, support for the military, and [[Anti-communism|anti-communist]] views that often align with the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Nguyễn |first1=S. |last2=Moran |first2=R. E. |last3=Nguyen |first3=T. A. |last4=Bui |first4=L. |date=2023 |title="We Never Really Talked About Politics": Race and Ethnicity as Foundational Forces Structuring Information Disorder Within the Vietnamese Diaspora |journal=Political Communication |volume=40 |issue=4 |pages=415–439 |doi=10.1080/10584609.2023.2201940 |quote="As first wave Vietnamese Americans 'came here either as refugees or something that had to do with the [Vietnam] War, and most people were affiliated with the South [Vietnamese] government,' words and phrases involving communism, China, or patriotism 'immediately create certain kinds of emotional reactions' (Focus Group 3)... A common pattern among first-generation Vietnamese Americans, as identified by their children, is a high level of patriotism toward the US, strong support for the military and police, and alignment with the Republican Party for anti-communist rhetoric."|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name=":19">{{Cite web |last=Do |first=Katelyn |date=2024-08-09 |title=Vietnamese Americans, progressive and conservative, organize around Trump's 2024 campaign |url=https://voices.aaja.org/stories/austin-2024/vietnamese-americans-progressive-and-conservative-organize-around-trumps-2024-campaign/ |access-date=2025-01-12 |website=AAJA VOICES}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Nguyen |first=Anna |date=2021 |title=Exploring the Political and Cultural Underpinnings of Vietnamese American Conservatism |url=https://scholarsbank.uoregon.edu/items/34b5eceb-f24c-492a-b4a2-e824bdb64c3d |journal=University of Oregon |language=en-US}}</ref> The party's vocal anti-communism appealed to those who resettled during the [[Presidency of Ronald Reagan|Reagan administration]] and has continued to resonate with many since 2016, particularly due to [[Donald Trump]]'s anti-China rhetoric.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Nguyễn |first1=S. |last2=Moran |first2=R. E. |last3=Nguyen |first3=T. A. |last4=Bui |first4=L. |date=2023 |title="We Never Really Talked About Politics": Race and Ethnicity as Foundational Forces Structuring Information Disorder Within the Vietnamese Diaspora |journal=Political Communication |volume=40 |issue=4 |pages=415–439 |doi=10.1080/10584609.2023.2201940 |quote="While Vietnamese Americans tend to identify as and vote Republican because 'Reagan established himself as the leading authority on anti-communism,' many more have come out to embrace Trump since 2016 (Focus Group 4). His anti-China, American exceptionalism rhetoric struck a chord with anti-communist Vietnamese Americans who believe 'Trump will help Vietnam fight China' or that Trump will 'destroy the Chinese Communist regime' (Focus Group 1)."|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Meakem |first=Allison |date=2025-01-09 |title=In Virginia, a Vietnamese American Community Divided |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2024/10/30/election-virginia-vietnamese-americans-kaine-cao-senate-republican-trump/ |access-date=2025-01-12 |website=Foreign Policy |language=en-US}}</ref> This support persists despite Trump’s plans to deport some Vietnamese refugees.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Dunst |first=Charles |date=2018-11-22 |title=Trump Administration Quietly Backs Off on Deporting Vietnamese Immigrants |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/22/world/asia/vietnam-trump-immigrants-deport.html |access-date=2025-01-12 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last1=Do |first1=Anh |last2=O’Toole |first2=Molly |date=2018-12-26 |title=Among Vietnamese, a generational divide arises in fight against deportation threat |url=https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-viet-deportees-20181226-story.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240509054507/https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-viet-deportees-20181226-story.html |archive-date=2024-05-09 |access-date=2025-01-15 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref> 

According to the 2008 [[National Asian American Survey]], 22 percent identified with the Democratic Party and 29 percent with the Republican Party.<ref name="naas">{{cite web |author1=Jane Junn |author-link1=Jane Junn |author2=Taeku Lee |author3=S. Karthick Ramakrishnan |author4=Janelle Wong |date=2008-10-06 |title=National Asian American Survey: Asian Americans and the 2008 Election |url=http://www.naasurvey.com/assets/NAAS-National-report.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081029001108/http://www.naasurvey.com/assets/NAAS-National-report.pdf |archive-date=2008-10-29 |access-date=2008-10-06}}</ref> Exit polls during the [[2004 United States presidential election|2004 presidential election]] indicated that 72 percent of Vietnamese American voters in eight eastern states polled voted for Republican incumbent [[George W. Bush]], compared to the 28 percent voting for Democratic challenger [[John Kerry]].<ref>{{cite news |author=Stephanie Ebbert |date=April 26, 2005 |title=Asian-Americans step up to ballot box |url=http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2005/04/26/asian_americans_step_up_to_ballot_box/ |access-date=2007-05-25 |newspaper=[[The Boston Globe]]}}</ref> In a poll conducted before the [[2008 United States presidential election|2008 presidential election]], two-thirds of Vietnamese Americans who had decided said that they would vote for Republican candidate [[John McCain]].<ref name="naas" /> 

In contrast, younger Vietnamese Americans lean Democratic, marking a generational shift from the Republican preferences of older immigrants who fled communism.<ref name=":18" /> The younger generation's political preferences are shaped by exposure to diverse viewpoints, including those on economic policy, healthcare, and social justice, which encourage a shift toward [[Progressivism|progressive]] values.<ref name=":18" /><ref name=":19" /> 

Polling data underscores this generational divide. A survey by the [[Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund]] (AALDEF) revealed that Vietnamese Americans aged 18–29 favored Democrat [[Barack Obama]] by 60 percentage points during the 2008 presidential election.<ref>{{cite web |last=Yzaguirre |first=Mark |title=GOP Losing Vietnamese American Voters |url=http://www.frumforum.com/gop-losing-vietnamese-american-voters |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120712030843/http://www.frumforum.com/gop-losing-vietnamese-american-voters/ |archive-date=July 12, 2012 |access-date=April 13, 2012}}</ref> According to a 2012 [[Pew Research Center]] survey, 47% of registered Vietnamese American voters leaned Republican and 32% Democratic. Among Vietnamese Americans overall (including non-registered voters), 36% leaned Democratic and 35% Republican.<ref>{{cite web |date=April 30, 2014 |title=Chapter 6: Political and Civic Life - Pew Research Center's Social & Demographic Trends Project |url=http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2012/06/19/chapter-6-political-and-civic-life/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140430233632/http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2012/06/19/chapter-6-political-and-civic-life/ |archive-date=April 30, 2014 |access-date=August 17, 2018}}</ref>

==== January 6 United States Capitol attack ====
Several Vietnamese Americans took part in the [[January 6 United States Capitol attack]], with some reportedly waving the [[Flag of South Vietnam|South Vietnamese flag]] and marching alongside [[Neo-Nazism|neo-Nazi]] and [[White nationalism#United States|white nationalist]] groups.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wang |first=Claire |date=2021-01-15 |title=Why the defunct South Vietnam flag was flown at the Capitol riot |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/why-defunct-south-vietnam-flag-was-flown-capitol-riot-n1254306 |publisher=[[NBC News]]}}</ref><ref name="Nguyen2021">{{Cite news |last=Nguyen |first=Viet Thanh |date=January 14, 2021 |title=There's a reason the South Vietnamese flag flew during the Capitol riot |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2021/01/14/south-vietnam-flag-capitol-riot/ |access-date=January 13, 2025 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref> Of the seven Asian individuals charged in connection with the event, five were of Vietnamese descent.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ricciardelli |first=Michael |date=2023-07-26 |title=A Demographic and Legal Profile of January 6 Prosecutions |url=https://www.shu.edu/news/a-demographic-and-legal-profile-of-january-6-prosecutions.html |access-date=2025-01-12 |website=www.shu.edu |language=en |quote="Those charged were overwhelmingly white (659 of 716, 92%) but also included Hispanics (39, 5.4%), Blacks (10, 1.4%), Asians (7.1% , 5 of the 7 were of Vietnamese ancestry) and one Native American."}}</ref>

The flag's display during the Capitol riot disappointed many Vietnamese Americans, particularly younger generations, who denounced its association "with hate, with racism, with supremacy."<ref name=":1">{{cite news |date=January 15, 2021 |title=Vietnamese community reacts after South Vietnam flag flies at violent Capitol riot |url=https://www.sunherald.com/news/local/counties/harrison-county/article248496455.html |access-date=2024-12-16 |work=Sun Herald}}</ref> They{{Who|date=May 2025}} argued that "the ideas of authoritarianism, of overturning the people's will, are not the principles that this flag stands for,"<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |date=January 15, 2021 |title=Why the defunct South Vietnam flag was flown at the Capitol riot |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/why-defunct-south-vietnam-flag-was-flown-capitol-riot-n1254306 |access-date=2021-12-04 |publisher=NBC News |language=en}}</ref> and expressed feeling embarrassed by the incident, saying it made them "looked like clowns."<ref name=":1" /> The event also prompted many young people to question "their elders' unyielding loyalty to and interpretation of the banner's values."<ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Taft |first=Isabelle |title=Vietnamese community reacts after South Vietnam flag flies at violent Capitol riot |url=https://www.sunherald.com/news/local/counties/harrison-county/article248496455.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210115145910/https://www.sunherald.com/news/local/counties/harrison-county/article248496455.html |archive-date=January 15, 2021}}</ref>

Congresswoman [[Stephanie Murphy]], the first Vietnamese American woman elected to Congress, served on the [[United States House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack|January 6th Committee]], where she co-led a public hearing and contributed to the investigation of the attack on the U.S. Capitol.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Brosh |first=Bianca |date=2023-01-05 |title=How Stephanie Murphy's refugee roots led her to Congress — and the Jan. 6 committee |url=https://www.msnbc.com/know-your-value/out-of-office/how-stephanie-murphy-s-refugee-roots-led-her-congress-jan-n1302304 |access-date=2025-01-15 |website=MSNBC.com |language=en}}</ref>

=== Notable Vietnamese American politicians ===

* '''[[Joseph Cao]]''': Elected in 2008 as a [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] to represent [[Louisiana's 2nd congressional district|Louisiana’s 2nd congressional district]], Cao served one term in the [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. House of Representatives]] from 2009 to 2011, becoming the first Vietnamese American to hold this position.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Spaeth |first=Ryu |date=2013-01-04 |title=The Accidental Congressman: Can a good man survive in Washington? |url=https://theweek.com/articles/469030/accidental-congressman-good-man-survive-washington |access-date=2025-01-13 |website=theweek |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=June 10, 2012 |title='Mr. Cao' Recalls Rookie Congressman's Unlikely Rise |url=https://www.npr.org/2012/06/10/154460910/mr-cao-recalls-rookie-congressmans-unlikely-rise |access-date=January 13, 2025 |website=NPR}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Joseph Cao |url=https://ballotpedia.org/Joseph_Cao |access-date=2025-01-13 |website=Ballotpedia |language=en}}</ref>
* '''[[Stephanie Murphy]]''': Elected in 2016 as a [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]] to represent [[Florida's 7th congressional district|Florida’s 7th congressional district]], Murphy served three terms in [[United States Congress|Congress]] from 2017 to 2023, becoming the first Vietnamese American woman and first Vietnamese American Democrat to hold this position.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Weik |first=Taylor |date=2016-12-26 |title=Stephanie Murphy went from Vietnam War refugee to member of Congress |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/stephanie-murphy-went-vietnam-war-refugee-member-congress-n700181 |access-date=2025-01-13 |website=NBC News |language=}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Stephanie Murphy |url=https://ballotpedia.org/Stephanie_Murphy |access-date=2025-01-13 |website=Ballotpedia |language=en}}</ref> During her tenure, she also served on the [[United States House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack|January 6th Committee]], which investigated the [[January 6 United States Capitol attack|attack on the U.S. Capitol]].<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Cortellessa |first=Eric |date=2022-07-11 |title=Lawmaker Helping Lead Jan. 6 Hearing First Fled Vietnam, Then Capitol Rioters |url=https://time.com/6195712/stephanie-murphy-jan-6-committee-interview/ |access-date=2025-01-15 |magazine=TIME |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Cochrane |first=Emily |date=2022-07-12 |title=Stephanie Murphy: Her roots in Vietnam fuel a concern for democracy. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/12/us/stephanie-murphy-jan-6.html |access-date=2025-01-13 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
* '''[[Derek Tran]]''': Elected in 2024 as a [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]] to represent [[California's 45th congressional district]], Tran began serving in the [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. House of Representatives]] in 2025, becoming the first Vietnamese American to represent California in Congress.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Blood |first=Michael |date=2024-11-27 |title=Democrat Derek Tran defeats GOP Rep. Michelle Steel in Southern California swing House district |url=https://apnews.com/article/michelle-steel-california-house-democrat-derek-tran-6f512e87a3466ef7e5c37d641239e01b |access-date=2025-01-13 |website=AP News |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Derek Tran |url=https://ballotpedia.org/Derek_Tran |access-date=2025-01-13 |website=Ballotpedia |language=en}}</ref>

==Activism==
{{further|Hi-Tek incident}}
=== Opposition to communism ===
According to a 1995 study, the relationship between Vietnam and the United States has been the most important issue for most Vietnamese Americans.<ref name="Gale" /> As many are refugees from South Vietnam, many are strongly opposed to communism; this attitude could also take root during and after the [[Vietnam War]], injustice in communist reeducation camps as well as other issues with the communist government.<ref name="Hoang 2016">{{cite journal |last=Hoang |first=Tuan |date=2016 |title=From Reeducation Camps to Little Saigons: Historicizing Vietnamese Diasporic Anticommunism |journal=Journal of Vietnamese Studies |volume=11 |issue=2 |pages=43–95 |doi=10.1525/jvs.2016.11.2.43}}</ref> In a 2000 ''[[Orange County Register]]'' poll, 71 percent of respondents ranked fighting communism as a "top priority" or "very important."<ref name="collet">{{cite conference
|first=Christian
|last=Collet
|title=The Determinants of Vietnamese American Political Participation: Findings from the January 2000 ''Orange County Register'' Poll
|book-title=2000 Annual Meeting of the Association of Asian American
|date=May 26, 2000
|location=Scottsdale, Arizona
|url=http://www1.doshisha.ac.jp/~ccollet/AAAS%202000%20(Collet).pdf
|url-status=dead
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080910021753/http://www1.doshisha.ac.jp/~ccollet/AAAS%202000%20%28Collet%29.pdf
|archive-date=September 10, 2008
}}</ref> Vietnamese Americans stage protests against the Vietnamese government's policies.<ref name="protests">{{Cite journal
|last1=Ong
|first1=Nhu-Ngoc T.
|last2=Meyer
|first2=David S.
|title=Protest and Political Incorporation: Vietnamese American Protests, 1975–2001
|journal=Center for the Study of Democracy
|volume=04
|issue=8
|date=April 1, 2004
|url=http://repositories.cdlib.org/csd/04-08/
}}</ref> 

In 1999, opposition to a video-store owner in [[Westminster, California]] who displayed the [[flag of Vietnam]] and a photo of Ho Chi Minh peaked when 15,000 people held a nighttime vigil in front of the store;<ref>{{cite news |title=Little Saigon Vigil Protests Vietnam Human Rights Violations
|date=February 27, 1999 |author1=Nancy Wride |author2=Harrison Sheppard |work=Los Angeles Times |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-feb-27-me-12236-story.html}}</ref> this raised [[free speech]] issues. Although few Vietnamese Americans enrolled in the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]] because it was seen as more sympathetic to communism than the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]], Republican support has eroded in the second generation and among newer, poorer refugees.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-me-vietdems29feb29,0,772805.story|title=Leaning left in Little Saigon|author1=My-Thuan Tran|author2=Christian Berthelsen|name-list-style=amp|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=2008-02-29|access-date=2008-03-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080314155540/http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-me-vietdems29feb29%2C0%2C772805.story|archive-date=March 14, 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref> However, the Republican Party still has strong support; in 2007, in Orange County, Vietnamese Americans registered as Republicans outnumbered registered Democrats (55 and 22 percent, respectively).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ocblog.net/ocblog/2007/02/postelection_sp.html/|title=OC Blog: Post-Election Spinning|access-date=2007-02-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071014061134/http://ocblog.net/ocblog/2007/02/postelection_sp.html/ |archive-date=October 14, 2007}}</ref>[[File:South Vietnamese flag parade.jpg|thumb|alt=Parade marchers with South Vietnamese flags: three horizontal red stripes on a gold background|Vietnamese Americans marching with the [[Flag of South Vietnam|South Vietnam flag]] during [[Tết]]]]

=== Advocacy for the South Vietnamese flag ===
The [[flag of South Vietnam]], also known as the Vietnamese Heritage and Freedom Flag, carries significant cultural and historical significance for Vietnamese Americans in the United States, particularly among refugees impacted by the [[Vietnam War]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Do |first=Anh |date=2014-12-27 |title=Nearly 40 years after war's end, flag of South Vietnam endures |url=https://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-ff-south-vietnamese-flag-20141228-story.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241203181858/https://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-ff-south-vietnamese-flag-20141228-story.html |archive-date=2024-12-03 |access-date=2025-01-20 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US |quote="'This is what represents us as Vietnamese people,' he says of what is officially known as the Vietnamese American Freedom and Heritage Flag, with its three horizontal stripes paying homage to the three regions of Vietnam. 'We are proud of who we are, and no one can take away our beliefs.'"}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last1=Gammage |first1=Jeff |last2=Nguyen |first2=Anh |date=2018-04-28 |title=Loyal to a lost homeland: Philly-area Vietnamese honor a vanished South Vietnam |url=https://www.inquirer.com/philly/news/loyal-to-a-lost-homeland-philly-area-vietnamese-honor-a-vanished-south-vietnam-20180428.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240920021026/https://www.inquirer.com/philly/news/loyal-to-a-lost-homeland-philly-area-vietnamese-honor-a-vanished-south-vietnam-20180428.html |archive-date=2024-09-20 |access-date=2025-01-20 |website=The Philadelphia Inquirer |language=en |quote="That loyalty to a vanished homeland is born of a permanent, collective grief, a sorrow and pride branded onto the souls of people who left everything behind in desperate bids for safety and new lives."}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-10-31 |title=Why you'll see the South Vietnamese flag flying in Seattle |url=https://www.kuow.org/stories/why-you-ll-see-the-south-vietnamese-flag-flying-in-seattle |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241231095916/https://www.kuow.org/stories/why-you-ll-see-the-south-vietnamese-flag-flying-in-seattle |archive-date=2024-12-31 |access-date=2025-01-20 |website=www.kuow.org |language=en}}</ref> It serves as a "potent symbol of struggle and pride for Vietnamese Americans."<ref name=":21">{{Cite journal |last=Vu |first=Anna N. |date=2017-11-05 |title=The politics of memory and commemoration: the flag debate and perspectives of Vietnamese diaspora intellectuals in North America |url=https://brill.com/view/journals/bdia/10/1/article-p25_2.xml |journal=Diaspora Studies |volume=10 |issue=1 |pages=25–44 |doi=10.1080/09739572.2016.1239434 |issn=0973-9572|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Community leaders describe it embodying "the longing for one’s lost homeland that is felt by so many Vietnamese in the diaspora."<ref name=":21" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Clark |first=Helen |date=2017-07-23 |title=South Vietnam flag still flies high |url=https://asiatimes.com/2017/07/south-vietnam-flag-still-flies-high/ |access-date=2025-01-20 |website=Asia Times |language=en-US}}</ref>

Over the years, the Vietnamese have poured a great deal of resources into getting recognition for the flag across the U.S. By 2023, resolutions recognizing the South Vietnamese flag as the Vietnamese Heritage and Freedom Flag had been adopted by 20 states, 15 counties, and 85 cities.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-08-31 |title=EXPLAINED: Why does the South Vietnamese flag spark tension? |url=https://www.rfa.org/english/news/vietnam/south-vietnam-flag-explained-08302024215421.html |access-date=2025-01-20 |website=Radio Free Asia |quote="Activists have lobbied local officials to recognize the flag representing the displaced overseas Vietnamese community. In the United States, the flag has been formally recognized by 20 states and 85 cities as of 2023, according to a resolution introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives last year that seeks to recognize the flag as a symbol of the Vietnamese immigrant community."}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Rep. Steel |first=Michelle [R-CA-45 |date=2023-06-27 |title=Text - H.Res.560 - 118th Congress (2023-2024): Recognizing the Vietnamese Heritage and Freedom Flag as the official symbol of the Vietnamese-American community in the United States. |url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-resolution/560/text |access-date=2025-01-20 |website=www.congress.gov |quote="Whereas the flag of the former Republic of Vietnam has been formally recognized by 20 States, 15 counties, and 85 cities..."}}</ref><ref name="VATV">{{cite web|url=http://www.vatv.org/tv/article.php?op=Print&sid=465&PHPSESSID=|title=List of states and cities that recognize the Vietnam Freedom and Heritage Flag|website=Vatv.org|access-date=2013-08-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151018055733/http://www.vatv.org/tv/article.php?op=Print&sid=465&PHPSESSID=|archive-date=2015-10-18|url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== Community activism post-Hurricane Katrina ===
During the months following [[Hurricane Katrina]], the Vietnamese American community in [[New Orleans]] (among the first to return to the city) rallied against a landfill used to dump debris near their community.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/08/us/08landfill.html|title=A New Landfill in New Orleans Sets Off a Battle|author=Leslie Eaton|date=2006-05-06|access-date=2008-09-02|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref> After months of legal wrangling, the landfill was closed.<ref name="vietnamese-political-force">{{cite news |url=http://www.wwltv.com/local/stories/wwl103107khvietnameseno.1c3d96d66.html |title=After Katrina, Vietnamese become political force in New Orleans |author=Michael Kunzelman |agency=Associated Press |date=2007-10-31 |access-date=2008-11-06 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081210101039/http://www.wwltv.com/local/stories/wwl103107khvietnameseno.1c3d96d66.html |archive-date=December 10, 2008 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/rough/2008/08/a_village_calle.html|title=New Orleans: A Village Called Versailles: After tragedy, a community finds its political voice|publisher=[[PBS]]|date=2008-08-28|author=S. Leo Chiang |access-date=2008-09-02}}</ref>

=== Support for Hong Kong protests ===
Since the onset of [[2019–2020 Hong Kong protests|Hong Kong protests]] in June 2019, Vietnamese Americans have been the most active [[Asian Americans]] rallying in favor of the [[pro-democracy camp (Hong Kong)|pro-democracy]] (pro-Labor Union) [[Hong Kong people|Hongkongers]], organizing vocal marches in [[California]], where their largest community exists. They clashed with [[Chinese communism|pro-communist]] [[Mainland Chinese]] immigrants.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/pro-hong-kong-demonstrations-u-s-met-china-supporting-counterprotesters-n1049821 |title=Pro-Hong Kong demonstrations in U.S. met with China-supporting counterprotesters |newspaper=[[NBC News]] |date=2019-09-05 |access-date=2020-01-27}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2019-12-15/vietnamese-immigrant-protest-hong-kong |title=Hong Kong protests: Vietnamese immigrants rally in L.A. |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=2019-12-15 |access-date=2020-01-27}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://asamnews.com/2019/12/16/vietnamese-stand-in-solidarity-with-ongoing-hong-kong-protests/ |title=Vietnamese stand in solidarity with ongoing Hong Kong protests |newspaper=AsAm News |date=2019-12-16 |access-date=2020-01-27}}</ref> [[Trúc Hồ]], a famed Vietnamese American singer, wrote a song in [[List of July 2019 Hong Kong protests|July 2019]] to praise the Hong Kong protesters. The song went viral among Vietnamese and Hong Kong citizens.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.hongkongfp.com/2019/07/24/video-vietnamese-american-musicians-song-support-anti-extradition-protesters-inspires-hongkongers/ |title=Video: Vietnamese-American musician's song in support of anti-extradition protesters inspires Hongkongers |newspaper=[[Hong Kong Free Press]] |date=2019-07-24 |access-date=2020-01-27}}</ref>

==Ethnic subgroups==
Although census data counts those who identify as [[Vietnamese people|ethnically Vietnamese]], how Vietnamese ethnic groups view themselves may affect that reporting.

===Hoa===
The [[Hoa people]] are [[Han Chinese]] who migrated to Vietnam. In 2013, they made up 11.5&nbsp;percent of the Vietnamese American population, and in majority, identified itself as Vietnamese.<ref>Trieu, M.M. (2013). Chinese-Vietnamese Americans. X. Zhao, & E.J. Park (Eds.), Asian Americans: An Encyclopedia of Social, Cultural, Economic, and Political History (pp. 305-310). Santa Barbara, USA: Greenwood.</ref> Some Hoa Vietnamese Americans also speak a dialect of [[Yue Chinese]], generally [[code-switching]] between Cantonese and Vietnamese to speak to both Hoa immigrants from Vietnam and [[ethnic Vietnamese]]. [[Teochew dialect|Teochew]], a variety of [[Southern Min]] which had virtually no speakers in the US before the 1980s, is spoken by another group of Hoa immigrants. A small number of Vietnamese Americans may also speak [[Mandarin Chinese|Mandarin]] as a third (or fourth) language in business and other interaction.

===Eurasians and Amerasians===
Some Vietnamese Americans are Eurasians: people of European and Asian descent. They are descendants of ethnic Vietnamese and [[French people|French]] settlers and soldiers (and sometimes Hoa) during the French colonial period (1883–1945) or the [[First Indochina War]] (1946–1954).

[[Amerasian]]s are descendants of an ethnic Vietnamese (or Hoa) parent and an American parent, most commonly white or black. The first substantial generation of Amerasian Vietnamese Americans were born to American personnel, primarily military men, during the Vietnam War from 1961 to 1975. Many Amerasians were ignored by their American parent; in Vietnam, the fatherless children of foreign men were called ''con lai'' ("mixed race") or the pejorative ''bụi đời'' ("dust of life").<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.salon.com/11/sneakpeeks/sneakpeeks6.html |title=Vietnamerica: The War Comes Home |access-date=November 18, 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060324223139/http://salon.com/11/sneakpeeks/sneakpeeks6.html |archive-date=March 24, 2006 }}</ref> Since 1982, Amerasians and their families have come to the United States under the [[Orderly Departure Program]]. Many could not be reunited with their fathers, and commonly arrived with their mothers. In some cases, they were part of false families that were created to escape from Vietnam.<ref name=AmeCulture /> Many of the first-generation Amerasians and their mothers experienced significant social and institutional discrimination in Vietnam, where they were denied the right to education; discrimination worsening after the 1973 American withdrawal, and by the U.S. government, which discouraged American military personnel from marrying Vietnamese nationals and frequently refused claims of U.S. citizenship that were lodged by Amerasians born in Vietnam if their mothers were not married to their American fathers.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.amerasianusa.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=15&Itemid=29 |title=Amerasian Citizenship Initiative - Issue Background |publisher=AmerasianUSA |access-date=2013-07-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120327201357/http://www.amerasianusa.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=15&Itemid=29 |archive-date=2012-03-27 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.amerasianfoundation.org/amerasianlaws.php |title="U.S. Legislation Regarding Amerasians". Amerasian Foundation; website retrieved January 3, 2007 |publisher=Amerasianfoundation.org |access-date=2013-07-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120327201357/http://www.amerasianfoundation.org/amerasianlaws.php |archive-date=March 27, 2012 |url-status=usurped |df=mdy-all }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.house.gov/lofgren/news/2003/pr_031022_Amerasian.html |title="Lofgren Introduces Citizenship Bill for Children Born in Vietnam to American Servicemen and Vietnamese Women During the Vietnam War". Whitehouse.gov; October 22, 2003 |website=House.gov |access-date=2013-07-06}}</ref>

Discrimination was even greater for children of black servicemen than for children of white fathers.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www-mcnair.berkeley.edu/99McNairJournal/yoon/yoon.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061212125443/http://www-mcnair.berkeley.edu/99McNairJournal/yoon/yoon.pdf|url-status=dead|title=Yoon, Diana H. "The American Response to Amerasian Identity and Rights". Berkeley McNair Research Journal; Winter, 1999 (vol. 7); pp. 71—84.|archive-date=December 12, 2006|access-date=May 20, 2020}}</ref> Subsequent generations of Amerasians (children born in the United States) and Vietnamese-born Amerasians whose American paternity was documented by their parents' marriage or their subsequent legitimization have had an arguably more favorable outlook.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mtholyoke.edu/~thantran/Amerasian.html |title="Vietnamese-Amerasians: Where Do They Belong?" Thanh Tran; December 16, 1999 |website=Mtholyoke.edu |access-date=2013-07-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130704090211/http://www.mtholyoke.edu/~thantran/Amerasian.html |archive-date=July 4, 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The 1988 [[American Homecoming Act]] helped over 25,000 Amerasians and their 67,000 relatives in Vietnam, to emigrate to the United States. Although they received permanent-resident status, many have been unable to obtain citizenship and express a lack of belonging or acceptance in the US because of differences in culture, language and citizenship status.<ref>[http://web.syr.edu/~kjhall/ETS192/ab/ab.htm] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070323211016/http://web.syr.edu/~kjhall/ETS192/ab/ab.htm|date=March 23, 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.amerasianusa.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=15&Itemid=29 |title=Asian Art ← Finest Asian Art |website=Amerasianusa.org |access-date=2013-07-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120327201357/http://www.amerasianusa.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=15&Itemid=29 |archive-date=2012-03-27 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Ethnic Tai-Lao===
The [[Thai people in Vietnam|Thái peoples]], including the [[Laotians]], [[Nung people|Nung]]s and other Tai ethnicities who migrated to the United States were majority from Northern Vietnam. The community, overall, do not develop a separate ethnic identity sentiment due to long friendly relations with the Vietnamese rulers, thus the community don't regard itself [[Thai Americans]] or [[Laotian Americans]], and see itself part of Vietnamese American diaspora.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/vietnamese/entertainment/story/2005/02/printable/050218_vietkieuhoakieu|title=BBC Vietnamese|publisher=BBC}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://thegioidisan.vn/vi/vai-net-ve-nguoi-thai-o-nuoc-ta.html|title=Vài nét về người Thái ở nước ta|website=The Gioidisan}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://sites.google.com/site/thuvien20letuuyen/home/chuong|title=Chương 02:Người Thái (Việt Nam) - thuvien20letuuyen|via=sites.google.com}}</ref>

===Cham===
[[Chams|Cham]] are an ethnic minority of Vietnam and Cambodia, and a small number of them came to the United States as refugees fleeing the [[Cambodian genocide]]. The main Cham populations in the United States are located in [[Orange County, California]], [[Portland, Oregon|Portland]], and [[Seattle]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://vietcetera.com/en/vietnamese-americans-who-arent-vietnamese|title=Vietnamese Americans Who Aren't Vietnamese|first=Minh|last=Do|date=January 23, 2017|website=Vietcetera}}</ref><ref>{{Cite thesis|url=https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7p87z4wh|title=Negotiating (In)Visibility in the Cham American Diaspora|first=Asiroh|last=Cham|date=October 2, 2012|via=escholarship.org}}</ref>

===Montagnards===
In 1975, thousands of [[Montagnard (Vietnam)|Montagnard]]s fled to Cambodia after the fall of Saigon to the North Vietnamese Army, fearing that the new government would launch reprisals against them because they had aided the U.S. Army. The U.S. military resettled some Montagnards in the United States, primarily in North Carolina, but these evacuees numbered less than 2,000.

Outside of southeast Asia, the largest community of Montagnards in the world is located in [[Greensboro, North Carolina]], US.<ref name="uncg">{{Cite web |url=https://cnnc.uncg.edu/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/montagnards.pdf |title=MONTAGNARDS |date=August 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230601170550/https://cnnc.uncg.edu/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/montagnards.pdf|archive-date=June 1, 2023}}</ref> Greensboro is also the home of several community and lobbying organizations, such as the [[Montagnard Foundation, Inc.]]

==See also==
{{Portal|United States|Vietnam}} 
* [[Asian Americans]]
* [[List of Vietnamese Americans]]
* [[List of Vietnamese American groups]]
* [[List of U.S. cities with large Vietnamese-American populations]] 
* [[Vietnam–United States relations]]
* [[Vietnamese language in the United States]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Chan, Sucheng, ed. (2006). ''The Vietnamese American 1.5 Generation: Stories of War, Revolution, Flight, and New Beginnings'' 323pp
* Yến Lê Espiritu, “Toward a Critical Refugee Study: The Vietnamese Refugee Subject in US Scholarship,” ''Journal of Vietnamese Studies'' 1 (1–2): 2006: 410–433; 

* Yến Lê Espiritu,  “The ‘We-Win-Even-When-We-Lose’ Syndrome: US press Coverage of the Twenty-Fifth Anniversary of the ‘Fall of Saigon,’” ''American Quarterly'' 58 (2): 2006: 329–352; [http://www.jstor.org/stable/40068366 online].
* Ho, Canary H.   "Perspectives of First-Generation Vietnamese Americans and Filipino/a Americans : Lack of Representation and the Model Minority Myth" (EdD dissertation, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona; ProQuest Dissertations Publishing,  2023. 30494382).

* Kelly, G. P. ''From Vietnam to America: A chronicle of the Vietnamese immigration to the United States'' (Routledge, 2019). .

* Lipman, Jana K. ''In Camps: Vietnamese Refugees, Asylum-Seekers, and Repatriates'' (University of California Press, 2020)

* Nguyen, Nhi T. ''Not an American Dream: first-generation Vietnamese females’ success in higher education''. ( Thesis, California State University, Long Beach;  ProQuest Dissertations Publishing,  2019. 22589873).

* {{cite book |editor-last1=Ho Peché |editor-first1=Linda |editor-last2=Vo |editor-first2=Alex-Thai Dinh |editor-last3=Vu |editor-first3=Tuong |title=Toward a Framework for Vietnamese American Studies: History, Community, and Memory |date=2023 |publisher=Temple University Press |url=https://tupress.temple.edu/books/toward-a-framework-for-vietnamese-american-studies }}; see also [https://issforum.org/essays/PDF/E539.pdf online book review and further readings]
* Segui, Alan Serrano.  "The immigration generation: Nativity and the political socialization of Filipino and Vietnamese Americans" (Dissertation, University of California, Santa Barbara; ProQuest Dissertations Publishing,  2009. 3379510)
* Tran, Tuyen Ngoc. ''Behind the Smoke and Mirrors: The Vietnamese in California, 1975–1994'' (PhD dissertation, University of California, Berkeley, 2007).
*[[Min Zhou]] and [[Carl L. Bankston]] (1998). ''[[Growing Up American]]: How Vietnamese Children Adapt to Life in the United States''. New York: Russell Sage Foundation

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
{{Wikiquote}}
* [https://www.vietnam.ttu.edu/vahp/ Vietnamese American Heritage Project], Vietnam Center & Sam Johnson Vietnam Archive, [[Texas Tech University]].
* [https://sites.uci.edu/vaohp/ Viet Stories: Vietnamese American Oral History Project] at [[University of California, Irvine]].
* [https://sites.uci.edu/vaohp/resources/other-oral-history-projects-2/vietnamese-american-oral-histories/ Other oral history projects about Vietnamese Americans].
* [https://vietdiasporastories.omeka.net/ Vietnamese in the Diaspora Digital Archive].
* [https://vietnamesemuseum.org/ Vietnamese Heritage Museum].
* [https://usvietnam.uoregon.edu/en/ US–Vietnam Research Center] at [[University of Oregon]].

{{Overseas Vietnamese}}
{{Vietnamese Americans by location}}
{{Asian Americans}}
{{Demographics of the United States}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Vietnamese diaspora in the United States| ]]
[[Category:American people of Vietnamese descent|*]]
[[Category:Vietnamese diaspora by country|USA]]
[[Category:Asian diaspora in the United States]]
[[Category:Southeast Asian diaspora in the United States]]
[[Category:Refugees in the United States]]