ABSTRACT
The US Immigration law specifies that each immigrant have a sponsor—resident relatives, a citizen or a group of citizens—who will be responsible for the newcomer's welfare until they can assume the responsibility themselves. The sponsorship system as practiced by the federal government increased local fears that they would have to support immigrants resettled in their communities. International Rescue Committee was the only secular organization to work with this large a volume of immigrants; 89,382 of all immigrants were resettled by church-affiliated voluntary agencies. Volunteers at the camps also involved friends and neighbors in their community in sponsoring refugees. Most Vietnamese—129,729 in all—went through the refugee camps and were "sponsored" into the United States primarily through voluntary agencies contracted for such purposes. Immigrant priests usually were sponsored out of the camps by the church through United States Catholic Conference. Vietnamese participation in making decisions about their initial resettlement and the sponsorship program was minimal.
