Ambassador advises Vietnamese against illegally immigrating to U.S.

In a 1.5-minute video posted to the U.S. Embassy in Viet Nam's Facebook page, Knapper briefed a story of 17 men, women, and children from Viet Nam, Egypt, India, and Iran sailing in a small boat 150km from an island in Colombia toward Nicaragua in an effort to make their way illegally to the U.S. a few days earlier.

Knapper said that hundreds of people, women, men, and children go missing or die each year trying to migrate to the U.S. unlawfully. Many who make it to the U.S. end up in custody or as victims of human trafficking.

When U.S. immigration authorities find illegal immigrants, they detain them and send them back to their countries of origin, according to Knapper.

"These tragedies are preventable. As Viet Nam's friends and partners, we implore you not to let yourself, your families, your friends, your neighbors take this illegal and possibly dangerous journey," Knapper said.

Last Thursday, Spokesperson of the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Pham Thu Hang told reporters Viet Nam supports and facilitates its citizens living, studying, and working abroad, as long as they comply with Vietnamese law, the laws of host countries, and international law.

In response to reporters' questions about President Donald Trump's mass deportation campaign targeting undocumented immigrants and those with prior criminal records, including Vietnamese nationals, Pham affirmed that the repatriation of Vietnamese citizens deported by the U.S. has been conducted based on a bilateral agreement on citizen returns.

Both countries have maintained close, prompt, and effective coordination on this issue, said the Spokesperson.

The diplomat reiterated that Viet Nam remains committed to cooperating with the U.S. in receiving deported citizens in line with signed agreements./.