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The Advertiser
5 days ago
- Business
- The Advertiser
Business Newcastle president asks what's next if traders reject controversial rate
CITY of Newcastle will go to business owners that pay a Special Business Rate (SBR) with two questions: whether they think the scheme provides value for money, and if it should continue. Business Newcastle president Edward Duc has a question of his own: What's next if the answer is no? This week, councillors voted to survey business owners in SBR precincts about the future of the controversial scheme after several submissions to a recent independent probe into the council raised concerns about the transparency of how the funds are levied, allocated and spent. Mr Duc said feedback he has received is that a large proportion of those who pay the SBR do not see the value in the scheme. "We've got businesses, and I'm not saying this is the only reason, who are moving from Newcastle to Charlestown because of the high commercial rates," he said. "The more money that traders have to give to the council, the more it just inhibits what they can do. "It is Business Newcastle's view that the council should suspend the SBR and generate the funding themselves out of the generous commercial rates they're charging, that's our stand at the moment." City of Newcastle made $65.9 million in business rates in 2023/24 from 15,489 active businesses, the second-highest sum of any NSW council. The SBR is an additional charge levied on businesses in the precincts on top of their standard commercial rates. The Newcastle Herald asked City of Newcastle when it intends to conduct the survey and whether it intends to remove the SBR if businesses answer no to its two questions. If not, the Herald asked what the purpose of the survey is and what the council feels the value of the SBR is to businesses. Questions were also asked about the impact of the Port of Newcastle on commercial rates and the council's response to claims that SBR funds used on events should be funded by ratepayers and the council rather than business owners. In response, a City of Newcastle spokesman said following Tuesday's council meeting, the council is considering the "most appropriate" mechanism for implementing the SBR survey. "The elected council and community will be informed at the appropriate time," he said. The scheme has long been a point of contention, with some business owners questioning its necessity and others calling for it to be axed entirely. In 2024/25, the council said the cost to administer the scheme, including BIA governance and support, is $152,700. That figure is 10 per cent of total funds levied. Business Improvement Associations (BIA) in the city centre and Darby Street, Hamilton, Mayfield, New Lambton and Wallsend are independent organisations responsible for disbursing up to $100,000 of SBR funds each year. That money can be used for strategic directions to promote local business, marketing and promotions, prioritising and managing beautification projects and coordinating community events aimed at encouraging business demand. The council decides how the remainder of SBR funds are spent. Mr Duc said many business owners do not feel the SBR is being spent in a way that directly benefits them. "We've got to make sure that all of the people who actually pay the levy get to have a say," he said. "If the council doesn't take notice of the business community, then we will be having a big say, and we have a bit of muscle because we're part of Business NSW and Business Hunter. "Be assured, if the answer from businesses is no and the council decides not to act on it through the BIAs, then we will be lobbying to have it [the SBR] removed." The Davidson review recommended that the council require BIAs to undertake research with membership and the community annually, or at agreed regular intervals, to assess satisfaction, impact and present the findings to the council for consideration. CITY of Newcastle will go to business owners that pay a Special Business Rate (SBR) with two questions: whether they think the scheme provides value for money, and if it should continue. Business Newcastle president Edward Duc has a question of his own: What's next if the answer is no? This week, councillors voted to survey business owners in SBR precincts about the future of the controversial scheme after several submissions to a recent independent probe into the council raised concerns about the transparency of how the funds are levied, allocated and spent. Mr Duc said feedback he has received is that a large proportion of those who pay the SBR do not see the value in the scheme. "We've got businesses, and I'm not saying this is the only reason, who are moving from Newcastle to Charlestown because of the high commercial rates," he said. "The more money that traders have to give to the council, the more it just inhibits what they can do. "It is Business Newcastle's view that the council should suspend the SBR and generate the funding themselves out of the generous commercial rates they're charging, that's our stand at the moment." City of Newcastle made $65.9 million in business rates in 2023/24 from 15,489 active businesses, the second-highest sum of any NSW council. The SBR is an additional charge levied on businesses in the precincts on top of their standard commercial rates. The Newcastle Herald asked City of Newcastle when it intends to conduct the survey and whether it intends to remove the SBR if businesses answer no to its two questions. If not, the Herald asked what the purpose of the survey is and what the council feels the value of the SBR is to businesses. Questions were also asked about the impact of the Port of Newcastle on commercial rates and the council's response to claims that SBR funds used on events should be funded by ratepayers and the council rather than business owners. In response, a City of Newcastle spokesman said following Tuesday's council meeting, the council is considering the "most appropriate" mechanism for implementing the SBR survey. "The elected council and community will be informed at the appropriate time," he said. The scheme has long been a point of contention, with some business owners questioning its necessity and others calling for it to be axed entirely. In 2024/25, the council said the cost to administer the scheme, including BIA governance and support, is $152,700. That figure is 10 per cent of total funds levied. Business Improvement Associations (BIA) in the city centre and Darby Street, Hamilton, Mayfield, New Lambton and Wallsend are independent organisations responsible for disbursing up to $100,000 of SBR funds each year. That money can be used for strategic directions to promote local business, marketing and promotions, prioritising and managing beautification projects and coordinating community events aimed at encouraging business demand. The council decides how the remainder of SBR funds are spent. Mr Duc said many business owners do not feel the SBR is being spent in a way that directly benefits them. "We've got to make sure that all of the people who actually pay the levy get to have a say," he said. "If the council doesn't take notice of the business community, then we will be having a big say, and we have a bit of muscle because we're part of Business NSW and Business Hunter. "Be assured, if the answer from businesses is no and the council decides not to act on it through the BIAs, then we will be lobbying to have it [the SBR] removed." The Davidson review recommended that the council require BIAs to undertake research with membership and the community annually, or at agreed regular intervals, to assess satisfaction, impact and present the findings to the council for consideration. CITY of Newcastle will go to business owners that pay a Special Business Rate (SBR) with two questions: whether they think the scheme provides value for money, and if it should continue. Business Newcastle president Edward Duc has a question of his own: What's next if the answer is no? This week, councillors voted to survey business owners in SBR precincts about the future of the controversial scheme after several submissions to a recent independent probe into the council raised concerns about the transparency of how the funds are levied, allocated and spent. Mr Duc said feedback he has received is that a large proportion of those who pay the SBR do not see the value in the scheme. "We've got businesses, and I'm not saying this is the only reason, who are moving from Newcastle to Charlestown because of the high commercial rates," he said. "The more money that traders have to give to the council, the more it just inhibits what they can do. "It is Business Newcastle's view that the council should suspend the SBR and generate the funding themselves out of the generous commercial rates they're charging, that's our stand at the moment." City of Newcastle made $65.9 million in business rates in 2023/24 from 15,489 active businesses, the second-highest sum of any NSW council. The SBR is an additional charge levied on businesses in the precincts on top of their standard commercial rates. The Newcastle Herald asked City of Newcastle when it intends to conduct the survey and whether it intends to remove the SBR if businesses answer no to its two questions. If not, the Herald asked what the purpose of the survey is and what the council feels the value of the SBR is to businesses. Questions were also asked about the impact of the Port of Newcastle on commercial rates and the council's response to claims that SBR funds used on events should be funded by ratepayers and the council rather than business owners. In response, a City of Newcastle spokesman said following Tuesday's council meeting, the council is considering the "most appropriate" mechanism for implementing the SBR survey. "The elected council and community will be informed at the appropriate time," he said. The scheme has long been a point of contention, with some business owners questioning its necessity and others calling for it to be axed entirely. In 2024/25, the council said the cost to administer the scheme, including BIA governance and support, is $152,700. That figure is 10 per cent of total funds levied. Business Improvement Associations (BIA) in the city centre and Darby Street, Hamilton, Mayfield, New Lambton and Wallsend are independent organisations responsible for disbursing up to $100,000 of SBR funds each year. That money can be used for strategic directions to promote local business, marketing and promotions, prioritising and managing beautification projects and coordinating community events aimed at encouraging business demand. The council decides how the remainder of SBR funds are spent. Mr Duc said many business owners do not feel the SBR is being spent in a way that directly benefits them. "We've got to make sure that all of the people who actually pay the levy get to have a say," he said. "If the council doesn't take notice of the business community, then we will be having a big say, and we have a bit of muscle because we're part of Business NSW and Business Hunter. "Be assured, if the answer from businesses is no and the council decides not to act on it through the BIAs, then we will be lobbying to have it [the SBR] removed." The Davidson review recommended that the council require BIAs to undertake research with membership and the community annually, or at agreed regular intervals, to assess satisfaction, impact and present the findings to the council for consideration. CITY of Newcastle will go to business owners that pay a Special Business Rate (SBR) with two questions: whether they think the scheme provides value for money, and if it should continue. Business Newcastle president Edward Duc has a question of his own: What's next if the answer is no? This week, councillors voted to survey business owners in SBR precincts about the future of the controversial scheme after several submissions to a recent independent probe into the council raised concerns about the transparency of how the funds are levied, allocated and spent. Mr Duc said feedback he has received is that a large proportion of those who pay the SBR do not see the value in the scheme. "We've got businesses, and I'm not saying this is the only reason, who are moving from Newcastle to Charlestown because of the high commercial rates," he said. "The more money that traders have to give to the council, the more it just inhibits what they can do. "It is Business Newcastle's view that the council should suspend the SBR and generate the funding themselves out of the generous commercial rates they're charging, that's our stand at the moment." City of Newcastle made $65.9 million in business rates in 2023/24 from 15,489 active businesses, the second-highest sum of any NSW council. The SBR is an additional charge levied on businesses in the precincts on top of their standard commercial rates. The Newcastle Herald asked City of Newcastle when it intends to conduct the survey and whether it intends to remove the SBR if businesses answer no to its two questions. If not, the Herald asked what the purpose of the survey is and what the council feels the value of the SBR is to businesses. Questions were also asked about the impact of the Port of Newcastle on commercial rates and the council's response to claims that SBR funds used on events should be funded by ratepayers and the council rather than business owners. In response, a City of Newcastle spokesman said following Tuesday's council meeting, the council is considering the "most appropriate" mechanism for implementing the SBR survey. "The elected council and community will be informed at the appropriate time," he said. The scheme has long been a point of contention, with some business owners questioning its necessity and others calling for it to be axed entirely. In 2024/25, the council said the cost to administer the scheme, including BIA governance and support, is $152,700. That figure is 10 per cent of total funds levied. Business Improvement Associations (BIA) in the city centre and Darby Street, Hamilton, Mayfield, New Lambton and Wallsend are independent organisations responsible for disbursing up to $100,000 of SBR funds each year. That money can be used for strategic directions to promote local business, marketing and promotions, prioritising and managing beautification projects and coordinating community events aimed at encouraging business demand. The council decides how the remainder of SBR funds are spent. Mr Duc said many business owners do not feel the SBR is being spent in a way that directly benefits them. "We've got to make sure that all of the people who actually pay the levy get to have a say," he said. "If the council doesn't take notice of the business community, then we will be having a big say, and we have a bit of muscle because we're part of Business NSW and Business Hunter. "Be assured, if the answer from businesses is no and the council decides not to act on it through the BIAs, then we will be lobbying to have it [the SBR] removed." The Davidson review recommended that the council require BIAs to undertake research with membership and the community annually, or at agreed regular intervals, to assess satisfaction, impact and present the findings to the council for consideration.
Chicago Tribune
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
Perseverance pays off for Prairie State College photography students
Two young photographers from vastly different backgrounds had a chance to share the spotlight at Prairie State College as the spring semester wrapped up. Jamel Conner, of Chicago Heights, who won the school's Photographer of the Year award for his commercial art, and Huynh Vinh Duc Le, who has won various awards and scholarships for his serene portraits and other images, both share a love of the camera and what it can portray. Neither could afford a good camera when they came to the community college in Chicago Heights, but their work was featured in the school's Christopher Gallery in April and May. Both students are working on associates degrees in photography. Conner's featured photos were of a wedding dress, pages from magazines, glassware, jewelry and a percolator, all in calm, artsy settings. The images, he said, were the results of his efforts to bring objects to life. 'The idea of it being almost like a painting but it's real life,' he said. 'The ability to capture a moment to stop in time is something I wanted to be able to do myself.' He started toying with the idea of assembling a still life photo, but it morphed into something more commercial. 'It's almost editorial in a way,' he said. Conner's teacher, Rebecca Slagle, a professor of visual communications and multimedia arts, said there was much to like about Conner's work. 'It's very clean, he put a lot of thought into it,' she said. 'I like that it's quirky and fun and not boring still-life.' Duc, whose photos also were on display, said he'd loved taking pictures of landscapes and people ever since he was a middle schooler in Hue, the city where he grew up in Vietnam. Photography, drawing and journalism were required courses. But cameras were pricey, so he had to borrow one from a friend at school. 'I loved it and decided to get into it,' said Duc, who continued photography at the University of Education in Vietnam. He immigrated here with his mother in 2022, both sponsored by his grandmother, who has lived in Oak Lawn for 15 years. He's working toward his work visa. 'My mother wanted a new life,' he said. 'She's helped me a lot. She pays the rent and everything so I can focus on my studies.' He started helping out at a nail salon where his mom worked to help pay bills. 'When I came to the United States, I felt like I didn't belong here,' said Duc. But he persevered and made a home for himself at the college and started doing wedding photo gigs with another photographer. These days, one of his favorite subjects for pictures is his friend Ngoc, who he met at Tinley Park Community Church. 'She really liked the way I took her picture,' he said. Many other people have shared her enthusiasm for his work and he has received a number of scholarships and awards, including the Arts Unleashed Scholarships from the Prairie State College Foundation's Nicholas & Jacqueline Rinaldi and John B. Abate' Prize in the Arts recently. He has a full ride scholarship to Columbia College, which he'll attend in the fall. For Duc, the beauty of an image is in the details. 'I want to express my personality through the color grading,' said Duc. 'You can see my color is not that bright,' he said, pointing to his portrait shots displayed in Prairie State's gallery. Slagle, his photography professor, is one of his biggest supporters. 'Duc is an amazing photographer,' she said. 'Just the artistry and the connection I see with him and all the people he photographs. He has a way of making people comfortable.' Photography is making Duc more comfortable, too. 'When I take a photo, it makes my life happier — better. I'm improving myself,' he said. 'I want to tell people a boy from Vietnam came here to improve himself and to do things to gain experience and achieve a better life,' he explained. That sentiment isn't lost on fellow photographer Connor. Though always a hard worker, Conner said he was taken aback when he discovered he'd won the Photographer of the Year award, which includes a $1,500 scholarship to PSC. 'I felt like the other competitors were more talented than me, me being my own worst critic,' he said. But then he just felt grateful, not only for the award but for his own perseverance. 'Never assume you're not good at anything,' Conner said. 'After taking photos more and more, I gained more confidence and skill. It was that willingness to experiment and take risks.' He aims to use that confidence, skill and perseverance to do more commercial work, perhaps within a company's marketing department. Slagle, who also is coordinator of photography and graphic communications at Prairie State, said she was proud of the students' accomplishments as she 'watched them grow and the confidence they gain through the two-year program.' 'They're like your kids,' she said.
Yomiuri Shimbun
05-05-2025
- General
- Yomiuri Shimbun
50 Years on, Twin's Peace Mission Remembers Scars of Vietnam War; Nguyen Duc Advocates for Recognizing Lasting Impacts
Shunpei Takeuchi/The Yomiuri Shimbun Nguyen Duc walks with the aid of crutches using the leg that was once conjoined with his brother in Ho Chi Minh City on April 28. HO CHI MINH CITY — The scars of the Vietnam War, which claimed about 3 million lives, still run deep for those who experienced it. Amid this legacy, Nguyen Duc of the conjoined twins 'Viet and Duc' carries on a powerful mission of advocating for peace. This cause is strongly motivated by the memory of his brother who passed away. April 30 marked the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War. Ho Chi Minh City, which was once known as the South Vietnam capital Saigon, has transformed into Vietnam's largest economic hub, with towering skyscrapers and the country's first subway line, which opened last year. Formerly celebrated as the 'Paris of the Orient,' Saigon fell to North Vietnam on April 30, 1975, bringing the Vietnam War to its close. Shunpei Takeuchi/The Yomiuri Shimbun Duc speaks about his brother at a commemorative screening of the documentary film 'Dearest Viet' in Hanoi on Feb. 28. 'I didn't experience the war myself, but I'm a victim,' Duc, 44, said at his home in Ho Chi Minh City on April 28. He is the younger of the conjoined twins, who were believed to have been affected by the Agent Orange defoliant sprayed by the U.S. military during the war. Duc shared a leg and a kidney with his brother Nguyen Viet, and the two underwent separation surgery at the age of 7. Now walking with his right leg and crutches, Duc even manages to transport his 15-year-old twins to and from school on a three-wheeled motorbike. Despite this resilience, repeated surgeries for tumors and other ailments have left him feeling his time is limited. Despite his health challenges, he remains dedicated to sharing the experiences of war victims, giving lectures in various places. A documentary film about his life titled 'Dearest Viet' was released in Vietnam in February this year. Duc said that he feels it is his mission 'as a victim of war to continue to convey the unjust suffering caused by the continuing effects of war and to work for peace' in memory of his brother, who died in 2007 at the age of 26. Courtesy of Group Hoping for Viet and Duc's Development Duc, left, and his brother Viet in a custom-made wheelchair provided from donations in Japan The conjoined twins were born in February 1981, about six years after the Vietnam War ended, in a rural village in central Vietnam, an area sprayed with Agent Orange by the U.S. military. They became a symbol of the war's lasting scars. Duc has been in the public eye ever since he could remember. His visit to Japan in 1986 for his brother's treatment for acute encephalitis resulted in daily media coverage and served as a stark reminder that some lives continued to be affected by the pain of a war that ended more than 10 years earlier. Following the twin's separation surgery in 1988, Duc attended school alone, with his brother bedridden. Reflecting on that time, he said, 'I felt guilty toward my brother every day, which was very painful.' However, Duc was not particularly concerned with his own situation at that time. It was not until his high school years that he started to see himself as someone affected by the war. In 2004, he began working in the administrative department of the Ho Chi Minh City hospital where his separation surgery had taken place. He married in 2006, having met his wife at a friend's wedding. In 2009, he and his wife became parents to twins: a son they named Phu Si — the Vietnamese reading of the Chinese characters for Mt. Fuji — and a daughter named Anh Dao, meaning cherry blossom. Despite his children's healthy development, he confesses, 'The thought sometimes crosses my mind that they might suddenly fall sick, as my brother did.' Duc used to be uncomfortable talking about himself, but his perspective changed after his brother's death in 2007. He began to feel a desire to convey the preciousness of peace and the importance of family, and he continues to share his thoughts through lectures and social media. During the war, the U.S. military sprayed large quantities of Agent Orange to clear the dense forests where the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam, also known as the Vietcong, was believed to be hiding. According to the victims association, 4.8 million people were exposed to Agent Orange, and about 3 million more, including their children and grandchildren, have suffered from deformities, cancer and other diseases. The Vietnamese government classifies individuals who were in the sprayed zones and those with particular disabilities and diseases as 'first generation' victims. The subsequent generation exhibiting similar symptoms, including Duc, are designated as 'second generation' victims. The government provides benefits to more than 300,000 people under these categories. However, third and fourth generations are ineligible for this support. The United States maintains that there is no scientific causal link to the human damage. 'There are people who cannot become economically independent and are in dire situations,' Duc said, appealing for understanding of the realities faced by war victims. He is also deeply pained by ongoing global conflicts, such as in Ukraine and the Middle East. 'War only brings loss and suffering, both mentally and physically, to people and especially children,' he said. As Vietnam experiences rapid economic growth with the aim of becoming a developed country by 2045, Duc said that the deep division between North and South Vietnamese people, which has persisted strongly since the war, is now showing signs of moving toward unity. However, he added, 'War victims like me, suffering from its lasting effects, still lead incredibly difficult lives, and the memory of the war will never fade.'
Miami Herald
06-04-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Deportation fears rise among undocumented Asians in Southern California as policies shift
Duc never imagined his past mistakes would cost him everything. Brought to the U.S. as an infant in the 1980s, Duc, a Vietnamese refugee, has always considered the U.S. his home. But after serving time for a felony drug conviction, he learned that his green card had been revoked, and he now faces deportation to Vietnam, a country he has never called home. "I didn't know they could do that," said Duc, who asked to be identified by a nickname for fear of retribution. "If I had, I would've fought my case harder." The political fight over undocumented immigration has long centered on the U.S.-Mexico border. But within Asian communities, where undocumented status often carries deep cultural stigma, many are grappling with a largely overlooked crisis. In the first Trump administration, deportations of Southeast Asian immigrants, many of whom arrived as refugees, intensified, according to the Asian Pacific American Law Journal. And with President Donald Trump back in office, fears of another crackdown are growing, especially as federal immigration policies overall have become increasingly stricter. From refugees who arrived decades ago to visa holders who overstayed, the pathways into undocumented status for Asians are varied. An estimated 261,000 undocumented Asians reside in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and San Diego counties, according to the Migration Policy Institute, a nonpartisan organization that tracks immigration issues. Duc was born in 1981 in a refugee camp in the Philippines. His parents, fleeing the Cambodian civil war and the Khmer Rouge's reign of terror, met in a refugee camp before being sponsored to the U.S. by an uncle. When Duc was 3 months old, he arrived in Los Angeles with his family, growing up in Chinatown during the 1980s and '90s, an era marked by gang violence. "It was tough growing up," Duc said. "People were shooting each other, robbing each other. Chinatown in the '80s and '90s - it was pretty bad." But escaping that environment was difficult. As a young boy, Duc was surrounded by gangs, and kids looked up to them because "they had the money, they had the girls, they had the cars." "There was an alleyway up my house where the gangs would throw footballs with the kids, and every now and then, they would give us money," he said. In his 20s, he was struggling financially and turned to selling drugs. "I was in a rough spot, and I just needed money to survive. I had friends that wanted drugs, and I knew how to get them. That's how it started," he said. Data indicates that immigrants, including undocumented individuals, are less likely to commit crimes than U.S.-born citizens. A 2020 study by the National Bureau of Economic Research found that immigrants were 60% less likely to be incarcerated compared to their U.S.-born counterparts. Duc was arrested on federal drug charges in 2008 and was released in 2011, but by then, his green card had been revoked. "I came from a refugee camp, and my parents were born in Vietnam. How are you going to deport me back to refugee camps that aren't out there anymore?" he said. "I'm sure Vietnam doesn't know who I am. I'm sure the Philippines doesn't know who I am." Duc is one of about 8,675 people considered Vietnamese citizens in the U.S. with final removal orders as of November, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. While deportations of Vietnamese refugees who arrived before 1995 were rare, enforcement ramped up under the first Trump administration. Vietnamese immigrants who came to the U.S. before 1995, many of them refugees from the Vietnam War, were generally protected from deportation. A 2008 Memorandum of Understanding between the U.S. and Vietnam safeguarded most of these immigrants, but in 2020, the agreement was revised, removing that protection. Tracy La, president of VietRise, a civil rights advocacy group in Orange County focused on the Vietnamese community, said fears of deportation weren't widespread until Trump's first term. "People who came before 1995, which are most of them, were protected from deportation. But that's changed a lot in the last four years … and there's been a lot of uncertainty and increased fear in the community." Jennifer Koh, who teaches immigration law at Pepperdine Law and focuses her research on immigration enforcement, said Duc's case is far from unique. "There are many cases along those lines … including people who came as young children, people who came as refugees," Koh said. "Green card holders facing deportation after having completed their criminal sentences is really experienced by many people as a double punishment." Under immigration laws signed by President Bill Clinton in 1996, legal residents convicted of certain crimes can be deported - even if they've lived in the U.S. for decades. "When people are convicted of an offense and they serve their time, the legal system has determined that they satisfied their sentence," Koh said. "Then it really raises hard questions about whether it makes sense to impose this additional distinction on them," said Koh, "especially when they haven't lived in their country of origin for a long time." For many, fear now dictates daily life. "People are afraid to go to the doctor, to send their kids to school, even to work," said Nikki Oei, policy manager at the Orange County Asian and Pacific Islander Community Alliance, a nonprofit social services organization based in Garden Grove. "They live in constant worry." Oei, who has many undocumented clients, noted that many undocumented Asians avoid seeking help due to cultural stigmas and the pressure to live up to the model minority stereotype. "If they're undocumented, or have a very tenuous immigration status, they will do everything in their power to make sure people don't know," she said. "Because there is not only wanting to live up to that public narrative, but also a lot of pride in our cultures to maintain that image of being, 'I'm as good of a citizen as anybody else is,' and anything that might put that into question is shameful." Jenny Seon, an immigration attorney at the Ahri Legal Aid Center in Buena Park, primarily serves Koreans, one of the largest groups of undocumented immigrants and the leading source of Asian DACA recipients. She said even within Korean churches - major hubs of community life - many people remain silent about their immigration status. "I go to a church in Orange County, and one of the pastors at our church hears the hardship of people," Seon said. "On the down-low, they funnel me people to talk to anonymously because they don't want to reveal themselves." But sometimes, their undocumented status isn't even their fault. Seon noted that some tens of thousands of U.S. adoptees, largely from South Korea, are undocumented. After the Korean War, many adoptees were brought to the U.S. on temporary visas, including tourist or medical visas. However, their adoptive parents failed to complete the naturalization process, leaving them undocumented. Three years ago, Oei worked with a Filipino client from South Orange County who had been trafficked for labor. He had overstayed his work visa because his employers failed to renew it. "He didn't know he was undocumented until we were looking at what public benefits he could be eligible for," Oei said. With Trump back in office, Duc fears he may become a target in a new wave of deportations. La said that the father of a Vietnamese family who VietRise is helping was detained during a routine ICE check-in in February and is now being held in San Bernardino County. Since his release from prison, Duc has worked to move forward. He attends his routine ICE check-ins, cares for his aging parents and raises his 5-year-old daughter and two stepchildren. However, he remains the only non-citizen in his family. "Everyone around me are citizens except for me. I don't know what the hell I was waiting for," he said. "Growing up, they never tell you, 'Hey, if you get in trouble, you're going to get deported.' I've been here since I was 3 months old. I'm 43 now." He hopes lawmakers, including Trump, will recognize that deporting longtime residents does more harm than good. "Know that people change, and they're not the same people that they were when they committed crimes," Duc said. "Taking them away from their family and friends is not going to change anything. It's actually going to make the community worse. The kids need their dad." The current political landscape offers little in the way of solutions. Conversations about legalization, like the amnesty granted under Ronald Reagan's 1986 immigration law, have largely faded. Instead, the debate has tilted toward enforcement, a shift that John Liu, a professor emeritus of Asian American studies at UC Irvine, sees as part of a longstanding paradox in U.S. immigration policy. "Every country has a right to regulate who they grant citizenship to, and every country certainly has the right to limit the number of citizenship they want to grant, but for societies that have large undocumented immigrants, they need to decide how they want to take care of it," he said. "Trump's answer is to deport them," Liu said, while past administrations have considered ways to grant legal status. For now, people like Duc remain in limbo, unsure of what the future holds. "If I knew … I probably wouldn't have done it," Duc said. _____ Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the respective providers.
