5/2 reading(late) Deporting Cambodian Refugees

In Kwon’s “Deporting Cambodian Refugees,” the group of youth which lobbied against the IIRIRA, called AYPAL went through all forms of protest available in order to get their local congresswoman to back a bill that would repeal the act.  However, the congresswoman always refused to meet personally with the group, and only sent someone in her place.  In both meetings, AYPAL was praised for their hard work and was assured that the congresswoman shared their sentiments, however, there were no signs that a bill would be drafted anytime soon.  The treatment of AYPAL shows how little political power they had, even though they went through various different protests, reached out to other organizations and even attempted to meet directly with a congresswoman.  One of the main reasons AYPAL was ignored may have been because the group was young, and mostly consisted of 14 to 18 year olds.  This might have caused them to be dismissed  or thought to be unknowledgeable.  However they also may have been ignored because, since they were young, they did not have the right to vote yet.  The importance of their lack of voting power can be seen when they tried to meet the congresswoman a second time, they were told to spread the word to those who could vote and tell them that the bill would be on the ballots.

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