PIVOT Stands With Bee Nguyen

PIVOT Stands With Bee Nguyen

June 12, 2019
We stand in support of Bee Nguyen, State Representative for Georgia House District 89, and her criticism of inflammatory statements made by an associate professor of history at Georgia Gwinnett College about undocumented immigrants. In a Facebook post, Fang Zhou called undocumented immigrants “ghetto thugs and criminals” and “illiterate uneducated intellectually inferior.” He also states that “deportation of illegals is so beautiful and lovely to see. It is sweet justice for me.” Mr. Zhou also reported that he consistently educates his students about “the financial burden of illegal immigrants” and “the high crime rate of illegal immigrants.”     

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PIVOT Proudly Endorses Kathy Tran In Her Re-Election Campaign

PIVOT Proudly Endorses Kathy Tran In Her Re-Election Campaign

June 3, 2019
PIVOT proudly announces that we are endorsing Kathy Tran for her re-election campaign. Kathy Tran was one of the first few candidates that our organization supported in 2017. When Kathy was elected to the VA House of Delegates (42 District) in 2017, she flipped a seat that was held by a Republican for 24 years. In her short two years there, she has helped pass Medicaid expansion to 400,000 Virginians, gave teachers a pay raise, advanced redistricting reform, and fought for women’s reproductive health care. We are thoroughly impressed with what a powerhouse she has become. Even the House Democratic Caucus recognized this and tasked her with the role of Finance Co-Chair, where she is committed to supporting candidates across Virginia and flipping the House this November 2019.
We strongly encourage you to donate to her campaign or contact us to help with voter outreach for Kathy Tran's re-election.

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Why Should Vietnamese Americans Care about Asian Pacific American Heritage Month

Why Should Vietnamese Americans Care about Asian Pacific American Heritage Month

May 22, 2019
Tung Nguyen, PIVOT President  
Since 1992, the month of May has been designated by the U.S. government as Asian Pacific American Heritage Month (APAHM). It is a time to remember the history of Asians in America and to celebrate their culture and accomplishments. Coincidentally, APAHM immediately follows April 30th, the anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War and the beginning of the Vietnamese diaspora. To some extent, Vietnamese Americans should feel that APAHM is a remembrance and celebration of our arrival to America and our contributions to this great country.

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In Her Loving Memory, I Fight Back

In Her Loving Memory, I Fight Back

May 6, 2019
Thu Quach, PIVOT Board Member

My beloved mother passed away on October 16, 2005. She was only 58 years old. In those years, she had survived immense poverty, the birth of five children, the loss of her second son, a war, a perilous escape on a small boat with three young children for days at sea, living in refugee camps, and resettling in a foreign land where she barely spoke English. Yet, it was cancer that finally took her down. Just thirteen months after her diagnosis, she was taken from us. But even after her death, her impact continued.

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PIVOT Denounces Reckless and Unfounded National Emergency

PIVOT Denounces Reckless and Unfounded National Emergency

February 22, 2019
On February 15, 2019, President Trump declared a national emergency concerning the southern border of the United States. This declaration came just days after Congress passed a budget that provided only a fraction of the requested funding for “border barriers.” Sixteen states have joined in lawsuits to challenge Trump’s declaration of a national emergency.

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PIVOT Stands with Delegate Kathy Tran and Her Efforts for Women’s Health

 February 4, 2019

PIVOT recognizes that abortion at the later stages of pregnancy is one of the most divisive issues in American politics generally and in the Vietnamese American community specifically. Even though third-trimester abortions are rare and performed primarily to protect the mother’s health, it is also when the balancing of the mother’s life and the sanctity of another life is at its most difficult. For these reasons, PIVOT believes that we must engage in this difficult conversation in a constructive way, not simply to score political points or to carry out personal attacks.

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Paying Forward

Paying Forward

January 22, 2019
Nguyen Minh Nguyet, PIVOT member

Last week, at the dinner table, my grandson, Hung, talked about his classroom fundraising for his school trip to Washington, DC in April. Hung is 13 years old, an 8th grader. His group of four close friends are all very excited about the project. They plan to sell baked goods. Ray's mom will help him make chocolate chip cookies, Marc plans to bring pies, and Sam's mom will make Japanese rice balls.

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Victims of War, and Now Victims of the Trump Administration

Victims of War, and Now Victims of the Trump Administration

December 3, 2018
Eric Tang and Viet Thanh Nguyen (published in The New York Times)
What is an appropriate punishment for a crime? The plight of thousands of Vietnamese refugees convicted of crimes in the United States and now threatened with detention or deportation demands an answer to this question.

For most of the four decades since the Vietnam War ended, refugees fleeing the Communist government in Vietnam have been treated differently from those refugees from most other countries. If they committed felonies, they would not be deported.

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Proud to be an Immigrant: Fighting Back Against Public Charge

Proud to be an Immigrant: Fighting Back Against Public Charge

November 26, 2018
Samantha Dang is an Associate Professor of Law at the Irvine University College of Law. As refugees from Vietnam, her family, like many others, made countless sacrifices to provide for their basic needs and establish a foundation for their  future in America. They worked in many jobs AND used public assistance to survive and thrive in America.

Read more about Professor Dang’s family story, and why she’s fighting to protect thousands of families, like hers, that would otherwise fall victim to the proposed public charge.

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