Dean Tran was born in Saigon, Vietnam, and emigrated with his family to the United States at the age of 4. The son of a military officer who fought with the US Forces, and a successful business family in Vietnam, he knows what it means to leave everything behind and start again. His family sacrificed every possession they had to flee from the communist-controlled country of Vietnam after the war ended to achieve freedom. After fleeing Vietnam and surviving the ocean while others perished, the family spent 2 years in refugee camps while waiting for their green cards to come to the United States. In 1980, he and his family were sponsored by a Catholic priest in Clinton, a town that he calls his first real home.
The current Biden Administration Immigration policy, which encourages open borders, is broken. Thousands of people have crossed our southern border illegally every month. Illegal immigration puts tremendous strain on our local communities, especially the cities in the US Third District already challenged with a number of social issues. The influx of immigrants in these cities has created an increased need for providing and funding quality education to non-English speaking children, as well as healthcare, law enforcement, and social-welfare programs to ensure the safety and strength of all residents. Currently, the Biden Administration is relocating illegals into cities and towns throughout the US without prior notice to the municipality or without giving consideration to their ability to provide necessary services.
The United States is a compassionate and welcoming nation, and we must have policies that reflect these values and that encourage more legal immigration. We cannot have open borders that reward illegal crossings into our country. Illegal immigration diverts federal funding that should be used to address the existing problems in our society, such as homelessness, veterans services, and substance/opioid abuse education and healthcare. These should all be priorities for our government.
My family escaped from Vietnam in 1975. I was a child refugee fleeing violence and the tyranny of a Communist takeover of my native country. America is and will always be a nation of immigrants. I firmly believe that being a first-generation immigrant does not make me any better than those who have come before me, but the experiences of my early youth had a profound impact on how I view immigration. I have seen firsthand what happens when good people don’t stand up to the trends that are emerging in America today. The kindness and compassion of America saved me. I am running to pay that forward.
No child should have to go through what I went through during our journey to America. Even worse is what children are going through at the Southern border today as they make the dangerous trek towards the USA. I cannot even imagine the terrifying experiences of unaccompanied children making this journey, only to be abandoned or put into human trafficking situations by the Cartels.
Increase the number of Border Patrol Agents to better secure our borders and ports of entry.
Increase staffing of immigration centers to quickly process Unaccompanied Minors (reducing their time in the system).
Increase the number of green cards and H1B Visas available to immigrants that have been vetted and do not have criminal records in their home countries.
Enforce accountability on the government to perform medical assessments for illegal immigrants and asylum seekers to ensure COVID, TB, and other deadly diseases are not being carried into our country, which endangers the lives of US Citizens.
Immediately deport any illegal border jumpers that have previous criminal history in their country of origin.
Require the Federal government receive permission from a community, before relocating illegal immigrants into any community. If a community agrees to accept illegal immigrants, the federal government must also evaluate the ability of the community to absorb the impact on their finances and services.