December 13, 2019
From California Asian Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus:
ASSEMBLYMEMBER DAVID CHIU, CALIFORNIA APILC AND ONE NATION HOST WEST COAST RELEASE OF REPORT ON IMMIGRANTS’ BENEFIT TO AMERICAN ECONOMY AND SOCIETY
Read MoreNovember 18, 2019
Mary Nguyen, PIVOT Member
There have been many occasions when I caved to the pressure to be “white” to conform with societal norms. In kindergarten, I chose to pack Lunchables after a “lunch box moment” occurred when a classmate claimed chà bông looked like hair. On Lunar New Year, I refused to wear my favorite áo dài to school for fear of standing out.
When my parents spoke Vietnamese or called me by my Vietnamese name in public, I flushed red with embarrassment. To retaliate, I’d respond in English, despite knowing this could perpetuate a barrier between my parents and me.
Read MoreOctober 31, 2019
Tung Nguyen, PIVOT President
This coming year 2020 will mark the 45th anniversary of the first settlement of Vietnamese refugees in the US. This is a long span of time, more than twice as long as the history of the South Vietnam from 1954 to 1975. The majority of refugees have lived here longer than in Vietnam. We will never forget our homeland, but in reality, we have adopted the US to be our new country, the land that has nurtured us and will continue to do the same for our children and grandchildren’s generations.
September 20, 2019
Uyen Nguyen, PIVOT Board Member (Originally published in Seattle Times)
I came to the U.S. as a refugee from Vietnam 34 years ago. Today, I would probably be turned away. As we await an announcement for the upcoming year’s refugee admissions target, my heart breaks for the mothers and children seeking safety and a better life in our country.
No one wants to flee their home. For my parents, it was a heartbreaking decision but one they felt they had to make in order to protect their children. When I was 10, I endured a treacherous, monthlong journey adrift in the South China Sea before arriving safely on land with my 15-year-old brother, thanks to the help of kind Filipino fishermen. We then spent a year and a half in a refugee camp waiting for the promise of a better future.
September 23, 2019
PIVOT enthusiastically endorses Representative Bee Nguyen in her re-election campaign. Bee was elected in 2017 to represent Georgia House District 89 after Leader Stacey Abrams stepped up to run for governor, breaking ground as the first Vietnamese American ever elected to the Georgia General Assembly and the only Asian-American woman currently serving in its 236-member body.
August 12, 2019
Jacqueline Thanh, Executive Director of VAYLA
In February, a group of Vietnamese refugees stood outside a New Orleans City Council meeting and, alongside their American-born neighbors, protested a proposed gas plant that would emit toxic pollution and cost taxpayers $210,000,000. Four months later, a judge delivered a verdict: The plant would not be built.
August 15, 2019
On Wednesday August 14, 2019, DHS released its finalized regulation Inadmissibility on Public Charge Grounds, unconscionably expanding its interpretation of public charge to include vital non-cash public support benefits such as health and nutritional benefits or housing support.
July 24, 2019
Thang Do, PIVOT Board Member
In recent days, President Donald Trump has been criticized harshly for several of his tweets. The criticism came of course from the opposing Democratic Party, but even in the President’s own Republican Party, several prominent figures also voiced their objection. Leaders of many countries attacked the racism implied in his Twitter messages.
July 24, 2019
Khanh Nguyen, PIVOT Member
"Go back to your country" is another way of saying "Because I love my country, you cannot disagree with me and since the color of your skin is different from me, then you must not love this country and therefore you must leave this country". It is the most racist statement a person can make to another person. It is a statement directed at me so many times while growing up in America, I lost count how many times but I did not lose the hurt as a result of it.
July 23, 2019
Linh T. Nguyen, PIVOT Member and Assistant Professor of American Ethnic Studies at University of Washington
President Trump’s July 14 attack on four freshman women Congressmembers Ayanna Pressley, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar is consistent with his attitudes toward women and people of color who continue to challenge his attempts to reinstall outdated gender and racial politics. In the days since, his ongoing vilification of Omar and the demand to “Send her back” has solidified as a rallying call for his conservative and predominantly white base. This recent barrage of attacks is part of a larger strategy to distract from the administration’s continued aggressive border policing and new asylum policies.
