Tram T. Nguyen serves as the State Representative for the 18th Essex District. which includes parts of Andover, Boxford, North Andover, and Tewksbury. A first generation Vietnamese-American, Tram was five when her family came to the U.S. as political refugees, escaping the communist regime of Vietnam. Her family settled in the Merrimack Valley, where Tram excelled in school and became the first person in her family to graduate from college at Tufts University, and she went on to graduate from Northeastern University School of Law.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, we have seen a surge in anti-Asian hate crimes across the country. Overall, there has been a steady rise in hate-motivated crime against people of any race, religion, ethnicity, gender identity. At this point in our country’s history, racism and xenophobia are incredibly prevalent, and we must look critically at our laws to make sure we are protecting marginalized and vulnerable communities. I filed a bill reforming the current hate crimes statutes and adding gender and immigration status to the list of protected classes. We must be able to call out hate and racism when we see it in order to increase accountability and ensure that communities receive the justice that they deserve.