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Vietnamese Americans () are
Americans Americans are the Citizenship of the United States, citizens and United States nationality law, nationals of the United States, United States of America.; ; Law of the United States, U.S. federal law does not equate nationality with Race (hu ...
of Vietnamese ancestry. They constitute a major part of all
overseas Vietnamese Overseas Vietnamese (, , or ) refers to the Vietnamese diaspora living outside of Vietnam. The global overseas Vietnamese population is estimated at 5 to 6 million people. The largest communities are in the United States, with over 2.3 million ...
. As of 2023, over 2.3 million people of Vietnamese descent live in the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, making them the fourth largest Asian American ethnic group.The majority (60%) are immigrants, while 40% were born in the United States. The Vietnamese American population grew significantly after 1975, when a large wave of South Vietnamese refugees arrived in the U.S. following the end of the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
. Today, over half of Vietnamese-Americans reside in
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
and
Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
, particularly in metropolitan areas like
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
,
Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
, and San Jose.


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 (born ; 19 May 1890 – 2 September 1969), colloquially known as Uncle Ho () among other aliases and sobriquets, was a Vietnamese revolutionary and politician who served as the founder and first President of Vietnam, president of the ...
, 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. According to the
U.S. Department of Homeland Security The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the interior, home, or public security ministries in other countries. Its missions involv ...
's Office of Immigration Statistics, the earliest recorded instances of Vietnamese individuals obtaining lawful permanent resident (LPR) status in the United States occurred between 1951 and 1959, when 290 Vietnamese were granted residency. These numbers began to grow during the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
, with around 2,949 Vietnamese obtaining LPR status between 1960 and 1969. Between 1955 and 1974, about 18,000 immigrants from Vietnam were admitted to the U.S.


First wave of immigration: 1975 and the Fall of Saigon

The
Fall of Saigon The fall of Saigon, known in Vietnam as Reunification Day (), was the capture of Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, by North Vietnam on 30 April 1975. As part of the 1975 spring offensive, this decisive event led to the collapse of the So ...
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 South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam (RVN; , VNCH), was a country in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975. It first garnered Diplomatic recognition, international recognition in 1949 as the State of Vietnam within the ...
government feared reprisals from the communist regime. 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. The final group was transported aboard U.S. Navy ships. Altogether, approximately 125,000 to 130,000 Vietnamese refugees were evacuated and resettled in the United States during the first wave. After leaving Vietnam, the refugees first arrived at reception camps in the
Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
and
Guam Guam ( ; ) is an island that is an Territories of the United States, organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, Guam, Hagåtña, and the most ...
before being transferred to temporary housing at U.S. military bases, including
Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton is the major West Coast base of the United States Marine Corps and is one of the largest Marine Corps bases in the United States. It is on the Southern California coast in San Diego County and is bordered by ...
(California),
Fort Chaffee Fort Chaffee Joint Maneuver Training Center, also known as Fort Chaffee, is an Arkansas Army National Guard Military base, installation located in western Arkansas, adjacent to the city of Fort Smith, Arkansas, Fort Smith. Established as Camp C ...
(Arkansas),
Eglin Air Force Base Eglin Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) base in the western Florida panhandle, located about southwest of Valparaiso, Florida, Valparaiso in Okaloosa County, Florida, Okaloosa County. The host unit at Eglin is the 96th Test ...
(Florida), and
Fort Indiantown Gap Fort Indiantown Gap, also referred to as "The Gap" or "FIG", is a census-designated place and National Guard Training Center primarily located in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, United States. A portion of the installation is located in eastern ...
(Pennsylvania). Following resettlement preparations, they were assigned to voluntary agencies (
VOLAG VOLAG, sometimes spelled Volag or VolAg, is an abbreviation for "Voluntary Agency". This term refers to any of the nine U.S. private agencies and one state agency that have cooperative agreements with the United States Department of State, State De ...
s), which provided assistance in securing financial and personal support from sponsors in the U.S.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., 1996Nguyen-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 Most first-wave refugees were better educated, wealthier, and more proficient in English than those in subsequent waves. According to 1975 U.S. State Department data, over 30% of first-wave household heads were
medical professional A health professional, healthcare professional (HCP), or healthcare worker (sometimes abbreviated as HCW) is a provider of health care treatment and advice based on formal training and experience. The field includes those who work as a Nursing, nur ...
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.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 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. According to a 1975 Gallup poll, only 36% of Americans approved of the resettlement, while 54% disapproved. Despite initial public reluctance, President
Gerald Ford Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. (born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was the 38th president of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, Ford assumed the p ...
emphasized a "profound moral obligation" to assist the refugees, calling it a "great human tragedy." In response, Congress passed the Indochina Migration and Refugee Assistance Act of 1975, providing special entry status and $455 million in resettlement aid. To prevent the refugees from forming
ethnic enclave In sociology, an ethnic enclave is a geographic area with high ethnic concentration, characteristic cultural identity, and economic activity. The term is usually used to refer to either a residential area or a workspace with a high concentration ...
s and minimize impact on local communities, they were initially dispersed across the country. However, within a few years, many relocated to
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
and
Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
.


Second wave of immigration: " boat people" (1978–1980s)

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 " boat people." This group represented a diverse range of backgrounds, including South Vietnamese elites, former
South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam (RVN; , VNCH), was a country in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975. It first garnered Diplomatic recognition, international recognition in 1949 as the State of Vietnam within the ...
military and government officials, Chinese minorities, religious minorities, farmers, fishermen, and merchants. Many fled persecution following the
fall of Saigon The fall of Saigon, known in Vietnam as Reunification Day (), was the capture of Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, by North Vietnam on 30 April 1975. As part of the 1975 spring offensive, this decisive event led to the collapse of the So ...
, where many South Vietnamese, particularly former South Vietnamese military officers and government employees, were detained in re-education camps for political indoctrination, forced labor, and torture. A significant number of boat people included ethnic Chinese, Hmong, and other minority groups, many of whom were Vietnamese citizens. Notably, ethic 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. The boat people were often rescued up by foreign ships and transported to asylum camps in
Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
and Southeast Asia such as
Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
,
Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...
,
Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
,
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
, and the
Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
. From these camps, many were resettled in countries that agreed to accept them, including the United States, Canada, Australia, France, and others. 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. In response to the plight of Vietnamese boat people, Congress passed the Refugee Act of 1980 to ease restrictions on refugee admissions. In 1979, the
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, l ...
(UNHCR) established the
Orderly Departure Program The Orderly Departure Program (ODP) was a program to permit immigration of Vietnamese to the United States and to other countries. It was created in 1979 under the auspices of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The objectiv ...
(ODP) to facilitate legal emigration from Vietnam to the U.S. and other countries. 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. 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 prisoners, while Vietnam prioritized the exodus of ethnic Chinese.


Vietnamese Fishermen's Association Antitrust Suit

Vietnamese refugees in the
Gulf Coast The Gulf Coast of the United States, also known as the Gulf South or the South Coast, is the coastline along the Southern United States where they meet the Gulf of Mexico. The coastal states that have a shoreline on the Gulf of Mexico are Tex ...
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, ndwholesalers refused to buy shrimp from Vietnamese Americans." The
Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to KKK or Klan, is an American Protestant-led Christian terrorism, Christian extremist, white supremacist, Right-wing terrorism, far-right hate group. It was founded in 1865 during Reconstruction era, ...
attempted to intimidate Vietnamese American shrimp fishermen, at one time having plans to burn Vietnamese shrimp boats. The Vietnamese Fishermen's Association, with the aid of the
Southern Poverty Law Center The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit legal advocacy organization specializing in civil rights and public interest litigation. Based in Montgomery, Alabama, it is known for its legal cases against white ...
, won a 1981 antitrust suit against the Klan, disbanding the "private army of white supremacists."


Shifts in Vietnamese immigration pathways (post-1980s)

While Vietnamese immigration has remained relatively steady since the 1980s, the pathways for Vietnamese immigrants to obtain lawful permanent resident (LPR) status have changed dramatically. Prior to 1998, the majority of Vietnamese
green card A green card, known officially as a permanent resident card, is an identity document which shows that a person has permanent residency in the United States. ("The term 'lawfully admitted for permanent residence' means the status of having been ...
holders were granted LPR status on humanitarian grounds, such as through refugee or asylum programs. In 1982, for example, 99% of Vietnamese immigrants received green cards via these channels. 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 Family reunification is a recognized reason for immigration in many countries because of the presence of one or more family members in a certain country, therefore, enables the rest of the divided family or only specific members of the family to ...
, a rate much higher than the overall figure of 58%. About 12% secured LPR status via employment sponsorship.


Demographics


Population and distribution

As of 2023, nearly 2.4 million Vietnamese Americans lived in the United States, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, with approximately 60% being immigrants ("foreign-born") and 40% born in the U.S. Vietnamese Americans have the highest naturalization rate among all immigrant groups. 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. 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. Geographically, Vietnamese Americans are predominantly concentrated in
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
(38%),
Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
(14%), and
Washington State Washington, officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is often referred to as Washington State to distinguish it from the national capital, both named after George Washington ...
(5%).
Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
,
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
,
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
, and
Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
each accounted for about 3% to 4% of the Vietnamese American population. Major hubs include Orange, Santa Clara, and
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
counties in California, and Harris County in Texas, together making up 31% of Vietnamese immigrants in the U.S. The largest and oldest Vietnamese-American
enclave An enclave is a territory that is entirely surrounded by the territory of only one other state or entity. An enclave can be an independent territory or part of a larger one. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is so ...
in the United States,
Little Saigon Little Saigon () is a name given to ethnic enclaves of overseas Vietnamese, expatriate Vietnamese mainly in English-speaking countries. (). Saigon is the former name of the capital of the former South Vietnam (now Ho Chi Minh City), where a lar ...
, is located in
Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...
and Garden Grove. According to the 2023 United States Census
American Community Survey The American Community Survey (ACS) is an annual demographics survey program conducted by the United States Census Bureau. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the United States census, decennial census ...
(ACS), Vietnamese Americans account for 43.8% and 32.6% of the population, respectively.


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. 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. 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.


Income

In 2023, Vietnamese Americans had a median household income of $88,467, which was 9.7% higher than the national median of $80,610. 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. This poverty rate has shown a gradual decline over recent years. In 2015, about 14.3% of Vietnamese Americans were living in poverty, which decreased to 12% by 2019.


Employment

In 2023, the
employment rate Employment-to-population ratio, also called the employment rate, is a statistical ratio that measures the proportion of a country's working age population (statistics are often given for ages 15 to 64) that is employed. This includes people that ...
for Vietnamese Americans was 61.4%, surpassing the overall U.S. employment rate of 60.3% during the same period. The unemployment rate was 2.8%, notably lower than the national average of 3.6%. Vietnamese Americans work in a wide array of occupations, with employment distributed as follows: * 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

According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2019
American Community Survey The American Community Survey (ACS) is an annual demographics survey program conducted by the United States Census Bureau. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the United States census, decennial census ...
, approximately 1.5 million people aged five and older speak Vietnamese at home, making it the fifth most commonly spoken language in the U.S., after English, Spanish, Chinese, and Tagalog. Additionally, the survey indicates that 57% of Vietnamese speakers reported speaking English "less than very well." This percentage is higher than that of Spanish (39%) and Tagalog (30%) speakers, and comparable to Chinese speakers (52%). 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.


Linguistic differences

English relies on tonal inflection sparingly, primarily to convey questions, whereas Vietnamese is a
tonal language Tone is the use of pitch in language to distinguish lexical or grammatical meaning—that is, to distinguish or to inflect words. All oral languages use pitch to express emotional and other para-linguistic information and to convey emphasi ...
in which the tone of a word determines its meaning. For example, the
syllable A syllable is a basic unit of organization within a sequence of speech sounds, such as within a word, typically defined by linguists as a ''nucleus'' (most often a vowel) with optional sounds before or after that nucleus (''margins'', which are ...
''ma'' can have different meanings depending on its tone, as marked by
diacritics A diacritic (also diacritical mark, diacritical point, diacritical sign, or accent) is a glyph added to a letter or to a basic glyph. The term derives from the Ancient Greek (, "distinguishing"), from (, "to distinguish"). The word ''diacrit ...
: * ''ma'': "ghost" * ''mà'': "but" * ''mã'': "code" * ''mạ'': "rice plant" * ''má'': "cheek" * ''mả'': "tomb" Another key difference between Vietnamese and English is the extensive use of relationship-specific
pronouns In linguistics and grammar, a pronoun ( glossed ) is a word or a group of words that one may substitute for a noun or noun phrase. Pronouns have traditionally been regarded as one of the parts of speech, but some modern theorists would not con ...
in Vietnamese. English employs "
you In Modern English, the word "''you''" is the second-person pronoun. It is grammatically plural, and was historically used only for the dative case, but in most modern dialects is used for all cases and numbers. History ''You'' comes from ...
" 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'').


Religion

According to the Pew Research Center, 37% of Vietnamese Americans identify as
Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
, 36% as
Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
, and 23% have no religious affiliation, while smaller proportions adhere to other faiths (2%), identify as
Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
(<1%), or did not provide an answer (3%). In 2024, Vietnamese Americans are more likely to identify as
Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
compared to those in Vietnam. While Christians, primarily
Roman Catholics The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
, make up about 10% of Vietnam's population, they make up approximately 36% of the Vietnamese American population. 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 America. Many practice
Mahayana Buddhism Mahāyāna ( ; , , ; ) is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, texts, philosophies, and practices developed in ancient India ( onwards). It is considered one of the three main existing branches of Buddhism, the others being Thera ...
,
Taoism Taoism or Daoism (, ) is a diverse philosophical and religious tradition indigenous to China, emphasizing harmony with the Tao ( zh, p=dào, w=tao4). With a range of meaning in Chinese philosophy, translations of Tao include 'way', 'road', ' ...
,
Confucianism Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China, and is variously described as a tradition, philosophy, Religious Confucianism, religion, theory of government, or way of li ...
and animist practices (including
ancestor veneration The veneration of the dead, including one's ancestors, is based on love and respect for the deceased. In some cultures, it is related to beliefs that the dead have a continued existence, and may possess the ability to influence the fortune of t ...
) influenced by
Chinese folk religion Chinese folk religion comprises a range of traditional religious practices of Han Chinese, including the Chinese diaspora. This includes the veneration of ''Shen (Chinese folk religion), shen'' ('spirits') and Chinese ancestor worship, ances ...
. Vietnamese are a major ethnic group notable among Asian American Catholics.
Hòa Hảo Hòa Hảo is a Vietnamese new religious movement. It is described either as a Syncretism, syncretistic Vietnamese folk religion, folk religion or as a sect of Buddhism. It was founded in French Cochinchina, Cochinchina in 1939 by Huỳnh Phú S ...
and
Caodaism Caodaism (; ; ; ) or Cao Đài is a Vietnamese Monotheism, monotheistic Religious syncretism, syncretic religion that retains many elements from Vietnamese folk religion such as Veneration of the dead, ancestor worship, as well as "ethical prec ...
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 Pure Land is a Mahayana, Mahayana Buddhist concept referring to a transcendent realm emanated by a buddhahood, buddha or bodhisattva which has been purified by their activity and Other power, sustaining power. Pure lands are said to be places ...
(Tịnh Độ Tông) and
Zen Zen (; from Chinese: ''Chán''; in Korean: ''Sŏn'', and Vietnamese: ''Thiền'') is a Mahayana Buddhist tradition that developed in China during the Tang dynasty by blending Indian Mahayana Buddhism, particularly Yogacara and Madhyamaka phil ...
(Thiền) doctrines and practices. Most temples are small, consisting of a converted house with one or two resident monks or nuns. Two of the most prominent figures in Vietnamese American Buddhism are Thich Thien-An and
Thich Nhat Hanh Thích is a name that Vietnamese monks and nuns take as their Buddhist surname to show affinity with the Buddha. Notable Vietnamese monks with the name include: * Thích Huyền Quang (1919–2008), dissident and activist * Thích Quảng Độ (1 ...
. There are also Theravada-based Vietnamese temples like Chua Buu Mon in Port Arthur, Texas.


Cuisine

Vietnamese immigration to the United States post-Vietnam War (1975) profoundly influenced American cuisine. Vietnamese Americans opened restaurants to preserve traditions and support families, introducing iconic dishes like ''
phở Phở or pho (, , ; ) is a Vietnamese soup dish consisting of broth, rice noodles (), herbs, and meat – usually beef (), and sometimes chicken (). Phở is a popular food in Vietnam where it is served in households, street-stalls, and ...
'', '' bánh mì'', and ''
gỏi cuốn ''Gỏi cuốn'', () nem cuốn, salad roll, summer roll, fresh spring roll, cold roll or rice paper roll is a Vietnamese cuisine, Vietnamese dish traditionally consisting of pork, Shrimp and prawn as food, prawn, vegetables, ''bún'' (rice vermi ...
,'' which have since become widely popular and embraced across the country. Alongside traditional dishes, Vietnamese Americans have introduced notable fusion creations. Garlic noodles, introduced in the 1970s, blend Vietnamese flavors with Italian pasta. 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. Viet-Cajun cuisine is another prominent example of fusion, which has flourished in
Gulf Coast The Gulf Coast of the United States, also known as the Gulf South or the South Coast, is the coastline along the Southern United States where they meet the Gulf of Mexico. The coastal states that have a shoreline on the Gulf of Mexico are Tex ...
regions like Louisiana and Texas. 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.


Festivals and celebrations

Vietnamese Americans continue to celebrate Vietnamese lunar calendar holidays, with ''
Tết Tết (, ), short for (; ), is the most important celebration in Vietnamese culture. Tết celebrates the arrival of spring based on the Vietnamese calendar and usually falls on January or February in the Gregorian calendar. is not to be co ...
'' (Vietnamese New Year) being the most significant. Festivities include activities like '' bầu cua tôm cá'' (dice games), '' múa lân'' (lion dances), the exchange of '' lì xì'' (red envelopes), and sharing festive meals featuring dishes such as ''
bánh chưng ''Bánh chưng'' or ''banh chung'' is a traditional Vietnamese dish which is made from glutinous rice, mung beans, pork, and other ingredients. According to legend, its origin traces back to Lang Liêu, a prince of the last king of the Sixth ...
, bánh tét,'' and ''mứt'' (candied fruit). In recent years,
Lunar New Year Lunar New Year is the beginning of a new year based on lunar calendars or, informally, lunisolar calendars. Lunar calendar years begin with a new moon and have a fixed number of lunar months, usually twelve, in contrast to lunisolar calendar ye ...
, which includes ''
Tết Tết (, ), short for (; ), is the most important celebration in Vietnamese culture. Tết celebrates the arrival of spring based on the Vietnamese calendar and usually falls on January or February in the Gregorian calendar. is not to be co ...
'', has gained recognition in the U.S.
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
(2022),
Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...
(2023), and
Washington State Washington, officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is often referred to as Washington State to distinguish it from the national capital, both named after George Washington ...
(2024) have officially designated it as a state holiday, while New York declared it a school holiday in 2023. , or the
Mid-Autumn Festival The Mid-Autumn Festival (for other names, see § Etymology) is a harvest festival celebrated in Chinese culture. It is held on the 15th day of the 8th month of the Chinese lunisolar calendar with a full moon at night, corresponding to mid- ...
, is also widely celebrated by Vietnamese Americans. Much like ''
Tết Tết (, ), short for (; ), is the most important celebration in Vietnamese culture. Tết celebrates the arrival of spring based on the Vietnamese calendar and usually falls on January or February in the Gregorian calendar. is not to be co ...
'', cities with sizable Vietnamese communities often organize large-scale ''Tết Trung Thu'' festivities that include lion dances, traditional performances, and community-centered activities. The festival is known for its iconic mooncakes and colorful lanterns.


Politics


Political preferences and generational differences

Vietnamese Americans, shaped by a history of fleeing
communism Communism () is a political sociology, sociopolitical, political philosophy, philosophical, and economic ideology, economic ideology within the history of socialism, socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a ...
as refugees, tend to lean Republican (51%) more than any other Asian American group. However, younger Vietnamese Americans are increasingly shifting toward the Democratic Party. Among voters aged 50 and older, 68% identified with or leaned Republican, while 58% of younger voters identified with or leaned Democratic. Many older, first-generation Vietnamese American refugees who fled communist rule after the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
exhibit strong
patriotism Patriotism is the feeling of love, devotion, and a sense of attachment to one's country or state. This attachment can be a combination of different feelings for things such as the language of one's homeland, and its ethnic, cultural, politic ...
toward the United States, support for the military, and
anti-communist Anti-communism is political and ideological opposition to communist beliefs, groups, and individuals. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, when th ...
views that often align with the Republican Party. The party's vocal anti-communism appealed to those who resettled during the
Reagan administration Ronald Reagan's tenure as the 40th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1981, and ended on January 20, 1989. Reagan, a Republican from California, took office following his landslide victory over ...
and has continued to resonate with many since 2016, particularly due to
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
's anti-China rhetoric. This support persists despite Trump’s plans to deport some Vietnamese refugees. According to the 2008 National Asian American Survey, 22 percent identified with the Democratic Party and 29 percent with the Republican Party. Exit polls during the 2004 presidential election indicated that 72 percent of Vietnamese American voters in eight eastern states polled voted for Republican incumbent
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
, compared to the 28 percent voting for Democratic challenger
John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician, and diplomat who served as the 68th United States secretary of state from 2013 to 2017 in the Presidency of Barack Obama#Administration, administration of Barac ...
. In a poll conducted before the 2008 presidential election, two-thirds of Vietnamese Americans who had decided said that they would vote for Republican candidate
John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American statesman and United States Navy, naval officer who represented the Arizona, state of Arizona in United States Congress, Congress for over 35 years, first as ...
. In contrast, younger Vietnamese Americans lean Democratic, marking a generational shift from the Republican preferences of older immigrants who fled communism. 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 progressive values. 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 Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
by 60 percentage points during the 2008 presidential election. According to a 2012
Pew Research Center The Pew Research Center (also simply known as Pew) is a nonpartisan American think tank based in Washington, D.C. It provides information on social issues, public opinion, and demographic trends shaping the United States and the world. It ...
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.


January 6 United States Capitol attack

Several Vietnamese Americans took part in the
January 6 United States Capitol attack On January 6, 2021, the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C., was attacked by a mob of supporters of Donald Trump, President Donald Trump in an attempted self-coup,Multiple sources: * * * * * * * * * * * * * two months afte ...
, with some reportedly waving the South Vietnamese flag and marching alongside
neo-Nazi Neo-Nazism comprises the post–World War II militant, social, and political movements that seek to revive and reinstate Nazism, Nazi ideology. Neo-Nazis employ their ideology to promote hatred and Supremacism#Racial, racial supremacy (ofte ...
and
white nationalist White nationalism is a type of racial nationalism or pan-nationalism which espouses the belief that white people are a Race (human categorization), raceHeidi Beirich and Kevin Hicks. "Chapter 7: White nationalism in America". In Perry, Barbara ...
groups. Of the seven Asian individuals charged in connection with the event, five were of Vietnamese descent. 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." They argued that "the ideas of authoritarianism, of overturning the people's will, are not the principles that this flag stands for," and expressed feeling embarrassed by the incident, saying it made them "looked like clowns." The event also prompted many young people to question "their elders' unyielding loyalty to and interpretation of the banner's values." Congresswoman
Stephanie Murphy Stephanie Murphy (born September 16, 1978) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for Florida's 7th congressional district from 2017 to 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, she defeated incumbent Republican John ...
, the first Vietnamese American woman elected to Congress, served on the January 6th Committee, where she co-led a public hearing and contributed to the investigation of the attack on the U.S. Capitol.


Notable Vietnamese American politicians

*
Joseph Cao Ánh Quang "Joseph" Cao ( ; ; born March 13, 1967) is a Vietnamese Americans, Vietnamese-American politician who was the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for from 2009 to 2011. A member of the Republican Party (United ...
: Elected in 2008 as a Republican to represent Louisiana’s 2nd congressional district, Cao served one term in the
U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...
from 2009 to 2011, becoming the first Vietnamese American to hold this position. *
Stephanie Murphy Stephanie Murphy (born September 16, 1978) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for Florida's 7th congressional district from 2017 to 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, she defeated incumbent Republican John ...
: Elected in 2016 as a Democrat to represent Florida’s 7th congressional district, Murphy served three terms in
Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...
from 2017 to 2023, becoming the first Vietnamese American woman and first Vietnamese American Democrat to hold this position. During her tenure, she also served on the January 6th Committee, which investigated the attack on the U.S. Capitol. * Derek Tran: Elected in 2024 as a Democrat to represent California's 45th congressional district, Tran began serving in the
U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...
in 2025, becoming the first Vietnamese American to represent California in Congress.


Activism


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. 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 The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
, injustice in communist reeducation camps as well as other issues with the communist government. In a 2000 ''
Orange County Register ''The Orange County Register'' is a paid daily List of newspapers in California, newspaper published in California. The ''Register'', published in Orange County, California, is owned by the private equity firm Alden Global Capital via its Digit ...
'' poll, 71 percent of respondents ranked fighting communism as a "top priority" or "very important." Vietnamese Americans stage protests against the Vietnamese government's policies. In 1999, opposition to a video-store owner in
Westminster, California Westminster is a city in western Orange County, California, United States. Westminster was founded in 1870 by Rev. Lemuel Webber as a Presbyterian Temperance movement, temperance colony and was incorporated in 1957. Westminster is bordered by ...
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; this raised
free speech Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recognise ...
issues. Although few Vietnamese Americans enrolled in the Democratic Party because it was seen as more sympathetic to communism than the Republican Party, Republican support has eroded in the second generation and among newer, poorer refugees. 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).


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 The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
. It serves as a "potent symbol of struggle and pride for Vietnamese Americans." Community leaders describe it embodying "the longing for one’s lost homeland that is felt by so many Vietnamese in the diaspora." 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.


Community activism post-Hurricane Katrina

During the months following
Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. ...
, the Vietnamese American community in
New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...
(among the first to return to the city) rallied against a landfill used to dump debris near their community. After months of legal wrangling, the landfill was closed.


Support for Hong Kong protests

Since the onset of Hong Kong protests in June 2019, Vietnamese Americans have been the most active
Asian Americans Asian Americans are Americans with Asian diaspora, ancestry from the continent of Asia (including naturalized Americans who are Immigration to the United States, immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of those immigrants). A ...
rallying in favor of the pro-democracy (pro-Labor Union)
Hongkongers Hongkongers (), Hong Kongers, Hong Kong citizens and Hong Kong people are demonyms that refer to a resident of Hong Kong, although they may also refer to others who were born and/or raised in the territory. The earliest inhabitants of Hon ...
, organizing vocal marches in
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
, where their largest community exists. They clashed with pro-communist
Mainland Chinese Mainland Chinese or mainlanders are Chinese people who live in or have recently emigrated from mainland China, defined as the territory governed by the People's Republic of China (PRC) except for Hong Kong ( SAR of the PRC), Macau (SAR of the PRC) ...
immigrants. Trúc Hồ, a famed Vietnamese American singer, wrote a song in July 2019 to praise the Hong Kong protesters. The song went viral among Vietnamese and Hong Kong citizens.


Ethnic subgroups

Although census data counts those who identify as ethnically Vietnamese, how Vietnamese ethnic groups view themselves may affect that reporting.


Hoa

The
Hoa people The Hoa people, also known as Vietnamese Chinese (Vietnamese language, Vietnamese: ''Người Hoa'', or ) are the citizens and nationals of Vietnam of full or partial Han Chinese ancestry. Chinese migration into Vietnam dates back millennia ...
are
Han Chinese The Han Chinese, alternatively the Han people, are an East Asian people, East Asian ethnic group native to Greater China. With a global population of over 1.4 billion, the Han Chinese are the list of contemporary ethnic groups, world's la ...
who migrated to Vietnam. In 2013, they made up 11.5 percent of the Vietnamese American population, and in majority, identified itself as Vietnamese. Some Hoa Vietnamese Americans also speak a dialect of
Yue Chinese Yue () is a branch of the Sinitic languages primarily spoken in Northern and southern China, Southern China, particularly in the provinces of Guangdong and Guangxi (collectively known as Liangguang). The term Cantonese is often used to refer ...
, generally
code-switching In linguistics, code-switching or language alternation occurs when a speaker alternates between two or more languages, or language varieties, in the context of a single conversation or situation. These alternations are generally intended to ...
between Cantonese and Vietnamese to speak to both Hoa immigrants from Vietnam and
ethnic Vietnamese The Vietnamese people (, ) or the Kinh people (), also known as the Viet people or the Viets, are a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to modern-day northern Vietnam and southern China who speak Vietnamese, the most widely spoken Austr ...
. Teochew, a variety of
Southern Min Southern Min (), Minnan ( Mandarin pronunciation: ) or Banlam (), is a group of linguistically similar and historically related Chinese languages that form a branch of Min Chinese spoken in Fujian (especially the Minnan region), most of Taiwa ...
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 Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...
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 settlers and soldiers (and sometimes Hoa) during the French colonial period (1883–1945) or the
First Indochina War The First Indochina War (generally known as the Indochina War in France, and as the Anti-French Resistance War in Vietnam, and alternatively internationally as the French-Indochina War) was fought between French Fourth Republic, France and Việ ...
(1946–1954). Amerasians 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"). Since 1982, Amerasians and their families have come to the United States under the
Orderly Departure Program The Orderly Departure Program (ODP) was a program to permit immigration of Vietnamese to the United States and to other countries. It was created in 1979 under the auspices of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The objectiv ...
. 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. 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. Discrimination was even greater for children of black servicemen than for children of white fathers. 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. 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.


Ethnic Tai-Lao

The Thái peoples, including the Laotians, Nungs 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 Laotian Americans () are Americans who trace their ancestry to Laos. Laotian Americans are included in the larger category of Asian Americans. The major immigrant generation were generally refugees who escaped Laos during the Laotian Civil War, ...
, and see itself part of Vietnamese American diaspora.


Cham

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 Cambodian genocide was the systematic persecution and killing of Cambodian citizens by the Khmer Rouge under the leadership of Pol Pot. It resulted in the deaths of 1.5 to 2 million people from 1975 to 1979, nearly 25% of Cambodia's populati ...
. The main Cham populations in the United States are located in
Orange County, California Orange County (officially the County of Orange; often initialized O.C.) is a county (United States), county located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Southern California, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population ...
, Portland, and
Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
.


See also

*
Asian Americans Asian Americans are Americans with Asian diaspora, ancestry from the continent of Asia (including naturalized Americans who are Immigration to the United States, immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of those immigrants). A ...
*
List of Vietnamese Americans A list is a set of discrete items of information collected and set forth in some format for utility, entertainment, or other purposes. A list may be memorialized in any number of ways, including existing only in the mind of the list-maker, but ...
* 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 Vietnamese language, Vietnamese has more than 1.5 million speakers in the United States, where it is the Languages of the United States, sixth-most spoken language. The United States also ranks second among countries and territories with the m ...


References


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
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). * ; see als
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


Vietnamese American Heritage Project
Vietnam Center & Sam Johnson Vietnam Archive,
Texas Tech University Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public university, public research university in Lubbock, Texas, United States. Established on February 10, 1923, and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the flagship instit ...
.
Viet Stories: Vietnamese American Oral History Project
at
University of California, Irvine The University of California, Irvine (UCI or UC Irvine) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Irvine, California, United States. One of the ten campuses of the University of California system, U ...
.
Other oral history projects about Vietnamese Americans

Vietnamese in the Diaspora Digital Archive

Vietnamese Heritage Museum

US–Vietnam Research Center
at
University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a Public university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...
. {{Authority control * USA Asian diaspora in the United States Southeast Asian diaspora in the United States Political refugees in the United States