Latino and Vietnamese groups come together for community empowerment — OC Register
By Hanna Kang
Latino and Vietnamese organizations in California’s 45th congressional district, which features one of the most closely watched races of the 2024 election cycle, have joined forces to advocate for a more representative and responsive government.
“There is more that unites us than separates us,” said Carlos Perea, executive director of the Harbor Institute for Immigrant and Economic Justice, during an Oct. 10 meeting at the Tram Chim Live King Crab restaurant in Westminster.
“I’m tired of seeing our communities being used as political pawns,” he said. “What I hope to do is build our own political power together.”
The meeting of community leaders centered on recent documentary-style videos from several progressive community organizations — VietRISE, Harbor Institute for Economic and Immigrant Justice, El Centro Cultural de México and Tenants United Santa Ana — in partnership with the Othering and Belonging Institute at UC Berkeley.
The three-part video series, in English with subtitles in Spanish and Vietnamese, highlighted Santa Ana’s sanctuary city fight, its rent control campaign and efforts to allow noncitizens to vote in municipal elections.
In 2017, Santa Ana became the first city in the county to enact a law designating itself a sanctuary for all residents, regardless of their immigration status. In 2021, it became the first city in the county to enact its own rent control and just cause eviction laws. And in November, Santa Ana voters will weigh in on whether to extend voting rights to noncitizens.
In the three videos, Latino and Vietnamese residents, young and old, shared their experiences of grassroots organizing around those issues. There’s a shared bottom line: Immigrant deportation, rising rent and a lack of representation in local government don’t discriminate.
