The Good Governor: Robert Ray and the Indochinese Refugees of Iowa

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After the American withdrawal from the Vietnam War, communism descended on Indochina. Those who cooperated with the United States faced imprisonment, torture, and death under the new regimes. Among those seeking asylum was the Tai Dam, an understudied ethnic group from northern Vietnam. Read about how the Tai Dam escaped communist persecution and shrewdly campaigned for sanctuary. In 1975, they wrote letters to thirty U.S. governors in the hopes of finding a new place to call home. Only Robert D. Ray of Iowa agreed to help.
Learn how Ray wielded more influence over Indochinese refugee resettlement and relief than any other governor. He created his own resettlement agency to relocate the Tai Dam, advocated for the greater admission of boat people fleeing Vietnam, launched a Cambodian relief program that generated over $540,000, and influenced the Refugee Act of 1980. Interviews with over thirty refugees and public officials inform the first book ever written on resettlement at the state level. The newcomers’ adapting to life in the Midwest, and the divided responses Iowans had to resettlement are presented. It is argued that Iowa’s unique program should serve as a model for alleviating other refugee crises.