WILLIAM P. CLEMENTS, JR. GOVERNOR Ms. Betty Bonner 3643 Broadmead Houston, Texas 77025 Dear Ms. Bonrier: OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR STATE CAPITOL AUSTIN, TEXAS 78711 April 20, 1981 Thank you for your letter expressing concern for the situation involving the Vietnamese shrimpers on the Texas coast. I abhor the involvement of the Ku Klux Klan and have expressed my position many times. I will not tolerate violence of any sort. I will use every resource available to me to prosecute any individual or organization responsible for any act of violence. The coastal problem is complicated by many factors. Economic conditions have deteriorated in the shrimping industry, and the harvest has declined. In some small coastal communities, the Vietnamese population is 15 per cent of the total population. A large influx of refugees strains the local economy and increases tensions between low income groups over limited work opportunities. Some Vietnamese shrimpers have expressed a desire to move because of these uneasy economic conditions and mounting tensions, but no one should be forced to leave any area of Texas. Most Texans have welcomed the Indochinese refugees, and I do not think the coastal area is typical of the State. I appreciate your interest and share your concern for threatened violence. Sincerely, William P. Clements, Jr. Governor WPCJr:em _•