PIVOT’S CIVIL RIGHTS PLATFORM

For decades, Vietnamese Americans have advocated for human rights for their countryfolk abroad in their quê hương, Vietnam. However, in the U.S., Vietnamese Americans also face threats to their civil and human rights that impair equal opportunity and access to key systems. Language, for instance, can be a major barrier for many Vietnamese Americans. The 2010 Census found that approximately 67% of Vietnamese American immigrants (5 years old or older) have limited English proficiency. Language proficiency can act as a barrier to voting, for example. Over 76% of naturalized Vietnamese Americans are eligible to vote. When Vietnamese Americans are not counted, we are left out of policy decisions, funding decisions, and other critical legislative efforts. Upon the following principles, PIVOT builds a civil and human rights platform that focuses on elevating the needs of Vietnamese Americans.

Advocate for equal access to justice, health care, and other vital systems and services. 

    1. Fully enforce Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. Many Vietnamese Americans are discriminated against on the basis of language. By Supreme Court law, this qualifies as national origin discrimination. Recipients of federal funding should provide language assistance to those who do not read, write, and speak English well.

    2. Fully enforce Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act so that Vietnamese Americans can access critical health information and services despite their potentially limited English proficiency (LEP). Health organizations must notify LEP Vietnamese Americans of language assistance.

Preserve and expand access to voting rights for Vietnamese Americans and other marginalized populations.

    1. Fully implement Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act, which provisions for in-language voting information and ballots for certain districts, specifically in areas where there are high concentrations of Vietnamese Americans that meet legislative thresholds.

    2. Oppose efforts to disenfranchise Vietnamese Americans and all marginalized voters, including efforts to request citizenship documentation.

    3. Support efforts to expand registration, including same-day and online voter registration.

Support all efforts to count Vietnamese Americans comprehensively and fully in key datasets, such as those administered by the U.S. Census Bureau. 

    1. Advocate for culturally and linguistically appropriate outreach campaign that includes Vietnamese Americans.

    2. Maintain a mandatory American Community Survey and ensure that socioeconomic data points are disaggregated as much as possible.

    3. Support local and state efforts to disaggregate race data so that Vietnamese Americans are counted.

Stand in solidarity with other marginalized communities on pressing civil rights issues.

    1. Support legislation that opposes profiling such as the End Racial Profiling Act, which would prohibit profiling by federal, state, and local law enforcement on the basis of actual or perceived race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, gender identity, or sexual orientation.

    2. Stand against hateful rhetoric and policies (e.g. Muslim Travel Ban) in solidarity with targeted communities.

Ensure equal access to economic prosperity by promoting fair protections for all workers.

    1. Educate Vietnamese Americans on workers’ rights issues, including wage theft and organizing.

    2. Support efforts that promote fair wages.