Tung Nguyen, MD
Professor of Medicine, University of California San Francisco (UCSF)
President, PIVOT-The Progressive Vietnamese American Association

It has been 3 months since the first patients infected with COVID-19 showed up in China, and 2 months in the U.S. Worldwide, there are over 200,000 infected people as of March 20th, and 14,000 cases in the U.S. Since we can only test a small number of people, the actual number of infected people are much higher. As far as scientists can tell, the death rate is about 3.6%, that is, for every 100 infected persons, 3 to 4 will die. This is about 30 times worse than the usual flu.

March 17, 2020

Announcement from US Citizenship and Immigration Services:

The Public Charge rule does not restrict access to testing, screening, or treatment of communicable diseases, including COVID-19. In addition, the rule does not restrict access to vaccines for children or adults to prevent vaccine-preventable diseases. Importantly, for purposes of a public charge inadmissibility determination, USCIS considers the receipt of public benefits as only one consideration among a number of factors and considerations in the totality of the alien’s circumstances over a period of time with no single factor being outcome determinative. To address the possibility that some aliens impacted by COVID-19 may be hesitant to seek necessary medical treatment or preventive services, USCIS will neither consider testing, treatment, nor preventative care (including vaccines, if a vaccine becomes available) related to COVID-19 as part of a public charge inadmissibility determination, nor as related to the public benefit condition applicable to certain nonimmigrants seeking an extension of stay or change of status, even if such treatment is provided or paid for by one or more public benefits, as defined in the rule (e.g. federally funded Medicaid).

My family and other close relatives escaped by boat from Communist Vietnam in the early 1980's. We lost our houses and even our meager luggage at sea after encountering storms or hidden rocks that broke one of our boats near the Malaysian shore.

Now, I can list the following achievements after years of financial hardship and hard work:
* Family A: 4 children are now professionals (including 2 PhD and 2 MS degree holders - engineering and economics)
* Family B: 4 children are now professionals (including 1 MD, 2 MS degree holders, 1 BS degree holder - health, computer science, and engineering, including an extraordinarily successful investor who has been making astute investments for charitable nonprofits here and around the world)
* Family C: 4 children are now senior technicians and professionals (including 1 master mechanic, 1 construction project manager, and 2 BS degree holder - computer science and engineering)

Without public assistance in our initial years, this country would not have seen such results.

We need a government which does not waste time and money on border walls and questionable legal tactics to hurt immigrants and refugees.

Check out PIVOT’s Policy platform: https://www.pivotnetwork.org/policy-platform

February 13, 2020

From our friends at One Nation AAPI:

The Department of Homeland Security released changes to the public charge rule, which go into effect on February 24, 2020. The new rule affects legal immigrants who do not have “green cards.” It does not affect all immigrants. If you are worried or confused about the new “public charge” rule and have questions, we hope the answers below can address your concerns.*

*Note: This is intended as general information, not legal advice.

Please click here for the FAQ page.

February 5, 2020
PIVOT announces our endorsement of Huy Tran in his race for San Jose (CA) City Council District 4.

Huy’s first organizing job began at San José State University (SJSU) in 2003 mobilizing students against budget cuts being imposed by then Governor Schwarzenneger. He continued on with an AFL-CIO apprenticeship program in Biloxi, MS and worked during the Katrina crisis there. Angered by the injustices he saw, Huy became a lawyer whose work has been focused on promoting the rights of workers and immigrants.

February 4, 2020

As a community psychiatrist, I am committed to protecting the Affordable Care Act, as I have seen first-hand how expanding insurance coverage of mental health and other conditions have helped save lives and improve health care access for my patients.

- Dr. Anh Thu Bui, PIVOT member, Bay Area, CA

January 27, 2020
When I was growing up, my family of 7 lived off of half what I earn now as a struggling PhD student. Policies kept my siblings and me out of poverty and in school. So when I read lines of policies, budgets, or legalese, what I see are people's lives. "Every child is born with potential, but not every child is born with opportunity." If America is going to be a land of opportunity, we have to make sure our policies reflect our values.

Linh Chuong, PIVOT member, Los Angeles, CA
Check out PIVOT’s Policy platform: https://www.pivotnetwork.org/policy-platform

January 17, 2020
As a refugee with children who calls America their homeland, and whose future are clouded by the potential effects of a hotter planet, I am doing what I can to help realize the vision of America as a diverse and tolerant country of immigrants whose people can work together to build better lives for all. Particularly, as part of the generation that is responsible for the largest share of harmful greenhouse gases that could destroy the planet, I feel a personal responsibility to address the challenges of climate change for the sake of my children’s and grandchildren’s future.'

Khanh B. Nguyen, PhD, PIVOT Board member, San Jose, CA
Check out PIVOT's policy platform on climate change: https://www.pivotnetwork.org/policy-platform

January 16, 2020
I experienced the Thomas Fire in California first hand and witnessed its devastating impacts on our communities. This sparked a passion inside of me to delve into the climate change advocacy arena to help push the issue. The current administration's denial of climate change is an existential threat to our population's survival. The science is clear, and if we do not take drastic measures to transform our society to be more sustainable then we face the dire consequence of living in an unhabitable world.

Hieu Le, PIVOT member, Washington DC
Check out PIVOT's policy platform on climate change: https://bit.ly/30tp87m

January 6, 2020

PIVOT denounces the reckless use of force by the Trump Administration, which was taken without consultation of Congress, against the advice of our military leadership, and can escalate into yet another never-ending war in the Middle East.  As Vietnamese Americans, we know first-hand the devastating impact of war and its aftermath. 

In recent days, Trump ordered the drone strike that killed a powerful official in Iran, Major General Qasem Soleimani,a bold move that heightens the risk of war.  A decision to wage war must always take into account the tremendous human, societal and environmental costs that war produces. Furthermore, while the decision to go to war is made by the powerful and rich, it is the poor - often people of color and working people - who bear the brunt of the pain. Thus, war must always be the very last resort, when our safety and our country’s very core interests are under threat.