Governor Ray is the father of Southeast Asian resettlement in the state of Iowa. As Governor in the mid-1970s, he called upon Iowans to open their hearts and their arms to refugees from Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos who were escaping from persecution and the perils of wars and starvation. He is most noted for getting the federal government to grant a group visa to the Taidam people. There is a sizeable Taidam and Vietnamese community in Iowa as a result of the Governor’s humanitarian efforts.

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