# 119-hr-7608: Southeast Asian Deportation Relief Act of 2026

119-hr-7608, Southeast Asian Deportation Relief Act of 2026, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Chu, Judy [D-CA-28] (D-CA); status introduced (as of 2026-09-21).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7608
- As of: 2026-09-21
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-7608
- Congress: 119
- Title: Southeast Asian Deportation Relief Act of 2026
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2026-02-20
- Sponsor: Rep. Chu, Judy [D-CA-28] (D-CA)
- Cosponsors: 38
- Policy area: Immigration
- Touches household money: no
- Last recorded action: 2026-09-21

## Summary

**Limits detention and removal** for certain long‑resident Southeast Asian nationals while creating a narrow path to reopen old deportation cases. This bill would bar detention or removal of Cambodian, Laotian, and Vietnamese nationals who entered by January 1, 2008 and have lived continuously in the United States since then, and it would let many people reopen or reconsider past removal orders from April 24, 1996 onward. - Eligible Southeast Asian nationals would be protected from detention and removal on and after enactment and would receive permanent work authorization via an employment endorsement or a 5‑year renewable work permit. - People with qualifying past removal, deportation, or exclusion orders could file for mandatory reopening or reconsideration; reopened cases would be terminated with prejudice and prior orders vacated so the person is treated as not having been removed. - The Department of Homeland Security must notify affected individuals within 60 days where practicable, the government may transport and parole eligible people back for proceedings at government expense, and federal courts may hear class actions to enforce the law.

## Cosponsors (38)

- Rep. Jayapal, Pramila [D-WA-7] (D-WA), 2026-02-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Lofgren, Zoe [D-CA-18] (D-CA), 2026-02-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Pressley, Ayanna [D-MA-7] (D-MA), 2026-02-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Amo, Gabe [D-RI-1] (D-RI), 2026-02-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Bell, Wesley [D-MO-1] (D-MO), 2026-02-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Clarke, Yvette D. [D-NY-9] (D-NY), 2026-02-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Garcia, Robert [D-CA-42] (D-CA), 2026-02-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Garcia, Sylvia R. [D-TX-29] (D-TX), 2026-02-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Goldman, Daniel S. [D-NY-10] (D-NY), 2026-02-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Gomez, Jimmy [D-CA-34] (D-CA), 2026-02-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Del. Norton, Eleanor Holmes [D-DC-At Large] (D-DC), 2026-02-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Johnson, Henry C. "Hank" [D-GA-4] (D-GA), 2026-02-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Khanna, Ro [D-CA-17] (D-CA), 2026-02-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Krishnamoorthi, Raja [D-IL-8] (D-IL), 2026-02-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Lieu, Ted [D-CA-36] (D-CA), 2026-02-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. McCollum, Betty [D-MN-4] (D-MN), 2026-02-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. McGovern, James P. [D-MA-2] (D-MA), 2026-02-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Meng, Grace [D-NY-6] (D-NY), 2026-02-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Moore, Gwen [D-WI-4] (D-WI), 2026-02-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Omar, Ilhan [D-MN-5] (D-MN), 2026-02-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Ramirez, Delia C. [D-IL-3] (D-IL), 2026-02-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Scanlon, Mary Gay [D-PA-5] (D-PA), 2026-02-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Simon, Lateefah [D-CA-12] (D-CA), 2026-02-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Smith, Adam [D-WA-9] (D-WA), 2026-02-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Thanedar, Shri [D-MI-13] (D-MI), 2026-02-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Tlaib, Rashida [D-MI-12] (D-MI), 2026-02-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Trahan, Lori [D-MA-3] (D-MA), 2026-02-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Vargas, Juan [D-CA-52] (D-CA), 2026-02-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Velázquez, Nydia M. [D-NY-7] (D-NY), 2026-02-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Williams, Nikema [D-GA-5] (D-GA), 2026-02-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Correa, J. Luis [D-CA-46] (D-CA), 2026-02-25T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Min, Dave [D-CA-47] (D-CA), 2026-03-03T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Sherman, Brad [D-CA-32] (D-CA), 2026-05-04T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Dexter, Maxine [D-OR-3] (D-OR), 2026-05-12T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. García, Jesús G. "Chuy" [D-IL-4] (D-IL), 2026-05-13T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Moulton, Seth [D-MA-6] (D-MA), 2026-06-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Casar, Greg [D-TX-35] (D-TX), 2026-08-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Waters, Maxine [D-CA-43] (D-CA), 2026-09-10T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- No detention and virtual check-ins: benefit, high. If enacted, the bill would bar detention or removal after enactment for nationals of Cambodia, Laos, or Vietnam who entered on or before January 1, 2008 and have lived in the U.S. continuously since that entry. If enacted, people under an order of supervision could apply to DHS to substitute virtua…
- Reopen removal cases for Southeast Asians: benefit, high. If enacted, the bill would require reopening or reconsideration of certain removal orders for Cambodian, Laotian, and Vietnamese nationals ordered removed, deported, excluded, or who took voluntary departure on or after April 24, 1996 and before enactment, if they show they would not have been deta…
- Work permits for Cambodian, Laotian, Vietnamese: benefit, high. If enacted, the bill would require DHS to authorize eligible nationals of Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam to work in the United States. To qualify you would need to have entered on or before January 1, 2008 and lived continuously in the U.S. since that entry. DHS would issue an "employment authorized"…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act
- 119-hr-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act
- 119-hr-15: Equality Act
- 119-hr-1589: American Dream and Promise Act of 2025
- 119-hr-12: Women’s Health Protection Act of 2025
- 119-hr-2763: American Family Act

## Sources
- [119-hr-7608 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/7608)

## Related
- [119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7973)
- [119-hr-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-51)
- [119-hr-15: Equality Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-15)
- [119-hr-1589: American Dream and Promise Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1589)
- [119-hr-12: Women’s Health Protection Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-12)
- [119-hr-2763: American Family Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-2763)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7608 (as of 2026-09-21).