Every week, AAMPLIFY brings you the week in Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander news.
Trump's immigration crackdown hits Vietnam
A former Vietnamese aborigine named Chuh A has been deported, reports Politico, due to a change in Vietnamese/U.S. policy expediting the deportation of immigrants convicted of felonies. This is complicated due to the fact that Chuh A belongs to the Montagnard people, a group formerly recruited by the U.S. military to fight on the American side during the Vietnam War. Due to that former allegiance, Montagnards are heavily persecuted in Vietnam.
A, whose last name is a traditional one-letter Montagnard surname, was caught with ecstasy, which is a felony. His father is a Montagnard veteran who fought on the U.S. side during the Vietnam War, and who was able to immigrate to the U.S. with the help of U.S. Special Services. However, A was ineligible for citizenship, as he was already 18 by the time he immigrated with his father.
Asian Americans not as concerned with racism and police brutality, survey shows
According to a GenForward survey, most Asian American Millennials do not consider racism and police brutality to be among the top 3 issues faced by Americans today.
Out of 1,800 Millennials surveyed, 251 individuals were Asian American, 15 percent of which considered racism on of the top 3 problems of today; 7 percent considered police brutality a top 3 problem.
Comparatively, 35 percent of Black respondents considered racism a top 3 problem and 27 percent of Latinx respondents said the same. 27 percent of Black respondents and 13 percent of Latinx respondents considered police brutality one of the top 3 problems of today.
White Americans polled at 14 percent for racism and 3 percent for police brutality.
Indian American Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi to calls for hate crime panel
In the wake of Charlottesville, Illinois Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi is calling for "a national independent commission to investigate and combat growing hate crime in the US."
A freshman Congressman, Raja Krishnamoorthi wants to protect American civil rights and and prosecute hate crimes to the fullest extent of the law. "After the events in Charlottesville, the American people are right to question whether our highest officials will fulfill those obligations. It is now more important than ever to affirm that we are a nation of laws and that those laws will be upheld and enforced," he said.
Congressman Krishnamoorthi follows other lawmakers in his condemnation of the white supremacists and neo-Nazis in Charlottesville, including Senator Ben Cardin, Congressman Eliot Engel and Congressman Gene Green.
Philippine police kill 32 in drug war's bloodiest day
Under the Philippines' President Duterte's war on drugs, launched on June 30 last year, thousands of people have been killed. On August 16, the drug war met its bloodiest day yet, with police killing 32 people in "dozens" of anti-drug operations, arresting 109 petty criminals, which included drug dealers.
Contesting activist allegations that these deaths were executions, police chief Romeo Caramat said the deaths occurred during shootouts, and police "don't have any control of the situation."
Activists accuse police and government officials of planting drugs and guns at crime scenes in order to root out opposition to Duterte's administration. Police deny involvement, citing gang turf wars and vigilantes interfering with legitimate operations.
Duterte's answer to activists was clear: "If they are obstructing justice, shoot them," he said.
Indian American pro gamer now highest-paid eSports player
Indian American Saahil Arora, better known as UNiVeRsE, is now the world's highest-paid eSports player.
Arora, 28, plays the free-to-play multiplayer game DotA 2 as one of millions who play the game worldwide. Arora has earned $2,826,896 over 67 tournaments as part of the team Evil Geniuses, making an average payout of $42,000 per tournament.
Other highly-paid eSports players include American Peter Dager, who has made roughly $2.63 million, and Pakistani Sumail Hassan, who has made $2.51 million. Of the top 10 eSports earners, 6 are from China.
What to check out this weekend
Want to kick off the weekend by catching up on AANHPI content? These highlights should have you covered.