Lawsuit claims Filipino workers came to US for an internship, instead they were exploited

Workers say that prestigious hotel lured them

A lawsuit filed Tuesday (June 25) accuses the luxury Grand America Hotel in Salt Lake City of exploiting workers from the Philippines.

Instead of a program that promised training and cultural immersion, the lawsuit accuses the hotel of forcing the Filipinos to work long hours doing menial jobs for low pay.

The four plaintiffs — Jann Descanzo, Veronica Bondoc, Glen Segundino and Marianne Ponio — studied tourism in the Philippines and came to learn about the hospitality industry in the United States. Attorneys for the plaintiffs suspect scores of others to join the class action lawsuit.

The hotel allegedly misused a type of visa similar to an internship program and instead treated participants like normal workers to avoid travel costs and other fees, according to the lawsuit filed by four workers represented by the Asian Americans Advancing Justice and other organizations.

"This conduct is a blatant, greed-driven and illegal perversion of this country's immigration laws," David Seligman, executive director of Towards Justice, a Denver-based nonprofit law firm helping with the lawsuit, said in a news release.

Grand America officials didn't immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

The Grand America Hotel opened a year before the 2002 Winter Olympics and is considered one of the most lavish in Utah. Past presidents have stayed in the hotel that often hosts major political gatherings and important conferences.

The hotel is the flagship of the Grand Hotel and Resorts company, which also owns four Little America hotels in Western states.

The J-1 visa program is intended to give foreign workers who can be scholars, teachers, camp counselors and au pairs training and experience in those fields in the United States.

The lawsuit claims the hotel didn't make good on promises of providing supervised training about aspects of the American hospitality industry.

The workers say they were forced to put in 60-hour weeks. Their supervisors were accused of making racist comments and the Filipinos were threatened with deportation when they complained about the hotel not following the promise offered by the internship program.

They each paid their travel costs and recruitment fees of more than $3,000 each, the lawsuit says.

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Four family members killed in a murder-suicide

Asian Americans avoid talking about mental illness because of the social stigma attached to it.

Seething with anger, frustration and jealousy may have pushed a man over the edge to kill four family members before taking his own life Monday, according to relatives.

San Jose, Calif. police believe that Sunday (June 23) night, Chi Dinh Ta, 60, fatally shot four relatives with a stolen 9mm handgun. His wife and a daughter climbed over a back fence to escape the carnage.

After police responded to the shooting and began searching the area, early Monday morning they found Ta nearby, fatally wounded from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot.

Authorities would not name the victims — three women and one man who had recently arrived from Vietnam — have not been released by the Santa Clara County Medical Examiner-Coroner’s Office until family members could identify them.

Ta was barred from owning or possessing firearms or ammunition because of three 1988 felony convictions in Orange County for second-degree robbery, attempted second-degree robbery and criminal conspiracy. He served two years of a five-year prison sentence, earning credit for time served and good behavior, and was granted parole in 1990, according to records from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

“He called me and he said, ‘Would you take my daughter?’ ” the cousin, To V Khuat, said in an interview with the Mercury News. “He said he was going to kill them. He had said things like this before, but I had always talked him down, calmed him down.”

Khuat, whose wife is Ta’s cousin, said in an interview that the gunman had often spoken to him about his troubles with his family.

“He was jealous that his wife was able to sponsor her family and he was not able to bring his family here because of things in his record,” Khuat said. “That is the cause.”

Police would not confirm or comment on Khuat's theory as they continued their investigation.

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Andrew Yang on 'The Late Show'

SCREEN CAPTURE / CBS

Presidential candidate Andrew Yang was a guest of Steven Colbert.

Remember that time when comedian Steven Colbert made fun of Andrew Yang's campaign for president? At the time, we accused Colbert of acting like a bully in making fun of the least known of the 23 presidential candidates. 

We challenged The Late Show host to have Yang on his show as a guest and treat him with the respect as a candidate with real solutions to some of this country's problems. Although Yang is considered a longshot to win the Democratic nomination, the son of immigrants is serious about his campaign.

Last night (June 24), Colbert did have the Asian American entrepreneur on his show for a short (realy short, compared to the time he gave other candidates) segment.

Yang was welcomed by Colbert and received strong applause. Apparently, Yang's supporters known as the Yang Gang, had packed to audience.

Fortunately, Yang has learned to talk really fast to get in all his talking points in a short period of time, including his proposal to have every American adult to $1000 a month that he calls his Freedom Dividend.

Yang was one of 20 Democrats who qualified to take part in the debate on Wednesday and Thursday. He'll appear on Thursday night along with former Vice President Joe Biden, Senators Bernie Sanders and Kamala Harris and Mayor Pete Buttigeig. He told Colbert that the biggest thing he could benefit from the debate is that people will ask, "Who is that Asian guy next to Joe Biden?" and look up for more information about him.

Earlier this month, Yang was treated more seriously and was allowed to go into more depth on his presidential platform with Bloomberg's Joe Weisenthal, Taylor Riggs and Caroline Hyde on Bloomberg Markets:

EDITOR'S NOTE: Corrected June 25, 9 a.m. PDT. Earlier versions of this article incorrectly named Sen. Elizabeth Warren for the debate Thursday (June 27) night. She is debating on Wednesda night..

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Happy Birthday Mindy Kaling, a Hollywood powerhouse

On her 40th birthday today (June 24), let's give Mindy Kaling a shoutout and some belated props.

She doesn't get the press of Ava DuVernay or Shonda Rhimes, two African American producers, but in her own quiet path, Kaling has become a Hollywood powerhouse in presenting stories from the perspective of South Asians.

In her own journey, she has broken through many barriers to women and people of color in the entertainment industry and because of her high profile, she has been the target of criticism, even from from Asian Americans.

Perhaps its because she didn't develop her "street cred" by not being publicly confrontational in her career moves. Instead of shouting discrimination at every turn or detour, she chooses instead, to soften the bias against people of color -- either as the lone woman of color in a writers' room or as a powerful content producer -- with a twist of irony or self-deprecating humor.

Perhaps it is also of her own making. As she moved from her breakthrough rrole in The Office, to writing and producing The Mndy Project, the South Asian American artist has been criticized for appearing late to accept her own heritage as a part of her character and favoring white romantic interests on The Mindy Project.

In an interview promoting her latest movie, Late Night, she said it didn't reflect her own experience. Although in real life she was treated better than the characters she depicts in the movie, she nevertheless, felt the "terror" of her first writing job.

“But the terror I felt as a new writer and having to represent all women and all minorities in a writers’ room is really real," she told My Entertainment News.

“That is ripped straight from my own experience.”

Now that she's established herself and is no longer having to prove herself, Kaling is freer to express herself and continue the fight for inclusion by calling her own shots.

Kaling has a lot on her plate: launching her first Amazon Studios feature film, “Late Night”; an adaption of Four Weddings and a Funeral with a diverse cast;teaming up with Priyanka Chopra for a new Hulu series; writing a Netflix series loosely based on her own childhood; and the possibility of bringing to life a series or movie about an Indian American superhero.
and -- oh, by the way -- being a single mom.

Hulu’s Four Weddings and a Funeral, which will debut July 31 on the streaming network, has a diverse cast and presents a romance between characters from different cultures. Nathalie Emmanuel, Nikesh Patel, Rebecca Rittenhouse, John Paul Reynolds, Brandon Mychal Smith, Zoe Boyle, Sophia La Porta and Guz Khan star in the series.

“The leads are an African American woman and a British Pakistani man,” Kaling said. Ten hours will be different than two also, but will still feature the requisite weddings and funerals.

“There’s 10 episodes, four weddings, and one funeral in the course of the 10 episodes,” Kaling said.

Kaling is also teaming up with pal Priyanka Chopra for an all-new movie that combines everything we love about Crazy Rich Asians and My Big Fat Greek Wedding.

According to Deadline, the duo is set to star in an upcoming comedy about a lavish Indian wedding. Inspired by Chopra's own wedding to recording artist Nick Jonas, the romcom will take place in both America and India, so expect to see loads of culture clashes.

Kaling and Dan Goor (Brooklyn Nine-Nine) will cowrite the new movie, which will likely be filmed in 2020. The pair will also serve as executive producers alongside Howard Klein (The Office). Casting hasn't been announced, yet.

Marvel's Ms Marvel is an Indian American superhero.

Perhaps her most intriguing project is one that hasn't fully materialized yet. She said in interview that she has had talks with Marvel to bring to life their comic book character Ms. Marvel, AKA Kamala Khan, an Indian American teendager, according to Deadline.
"I grew up this shy girl with absolutely no connections in Hollywood. To me, (her success) is really about being a fan," said Kaling. ... "The funny thing is no matter how successful I might be, I still wake up feeling like that person on the outside looking in."

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FilAm author finds inspiration in the Philippines'SCREE drug war

SCREEN CAPTURE / YOUTUBE

Randy Ribay, author of 'Patron Saints of Nothing'

ASAM NEWS

Filipino American author Randy Ribay published a new book titled Patron Saints of Nothing, yesterday. Ribay tells a coming-of-age story inspired by the tragedies of the Duterte drug war in the Philippines.

The premise of Ribay’s young-adult novel surrounds the teenager named Jay Regeuro. About to enter his freshman year in college, Jay learns that his cousin has died due to Duterte’s drug war. Unsettled by this fact, Jay decides to travel to the Philippines in an attempt to piece together the truth surrounding his cousin’s death. Amidst the chaos and adventures, Jay discovers the complicated reality within the country he once thought he knew well.

The Phillippine drug war was started by the Philippine’s own president, Rodrigo Duterte, in 2016. Known as Asia’s Donald Trump, Duterte’s presidential campaign is said to be just as radical as Trump’s 2016 campaign, according to CNBC News. One of his controversial campaign promises is to start a “blood war” against criminals and drug addicts. As a result of this promise, thousands of citizens have died in the country.

In his interview with NBC News, Ribay said he was surprised to find out that his relatives in the Philippines support Duterte’s drastic promise. “I just started wondering about what it would be like to be a teen right now struggling with that question,” he said in the interview.

Ribay’s compelling story also emphasizes a universal Asian American struggle: how does a teenager straddle the differences between the two cultures? Patron Saints of Nothing is Ribay’s tribute to this shared Asian American experience. 

According to Inquire Lifestyle Magazine, Ribay says that as a Filipino American, he felt like this “in-between state of identity, feeling like I have a foot in both worlds while not completely belonging to either.”

In an interview with the Inquirer magazine, Ribay recounts his research while writing this story. Born to a Filipino father and Caucasian mother, Ribay visited the Philippines periodically. To do research for his novel, Ribay paid two visits to the Philippines. He says that this project is his most personal work yet, in an interview with NBC News.

He added that he hardly read stories with Filipino Americans as the protagonist and he wanted to dedicate this novel to reflect his own personal Asian American narrative.

Patron Saints of Nothing is published by Kolika, and has already received starred reviews with a 4.48 rating on Goodreads.

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Japanese Americans protest plans to use Fort Sill as detention center for border children

SCREEN CAPTURE / KFDX

Former internees protest the use of Fort Sill as a detention center for children separated from their families.

ASAM NEWS

A group that included Japanese Americans who were detained as children during World War II demonstrated in Oklahoma yesterday to protest the US government’s plan to house over 1,400 migrant children at Fort Sill, reports KSWO 7News.
“75 years ago, 120,000 of us were removed from our homes and forcibly incarcerated in prison camps across the country,” said protest organizer Satsuki Ina, whose sign included a photo of her as a child in a WWII incarceration camp. “We’re here today to protest the repetition of history.”

Some other survivors also brought camp ID cards and photos from when they were detained as children.

Fort Sill police threatened arrests if protesters did not move from base property. Police told them to resume their demonstration on the other side of Rogers Lane, which was considered Lawton city property, but protestors initially refused.

“If that’s what it takes, to be arrested to make our statement, for people to know that we mean it when we say, we’re going to do what we can for America to stop repeating history,” said Ina.

Once Lawton police arrived and let them speak, the protestors held a news conference and then headed to Shepler Park where they hung origami cranes and met with some other organizations and local Native American Tribes. The groups joined together in prayer and continued the demonstration into the afternoon.

“So much of what’s happening today is very familiar to us,” Ina said. “We, my family, suffered for four years with indeterminate detention. My father was taken from us and put in a separate prison camp and there was a period of time when we didn’t know where he was, and I was a toddler at that time and when we’re finally reunified in Crystal City, Texas, in the family internment camp there, at that point, my father was just a stranger to me. I had a lot of anxiety as a child. So I’ve made it my life’s work to understand the trauma consequences of mass incarceration and chronic states of trauma.”

The Fort Sill post was last used to house migrant children in 2014 under the Obama administration, when it took in 1,861 migrants, reports The San Diego Union-Tribune.

Oklahoma’s Republican leaders opposed lockups like Fort Sill under Obama but have made a switch to defend them under the current administration.

SCREEN CAPTURE

During WWII, Japanese Americans were detained in Fort Sill, Oklahoma where Homeland Security plans to house Central American children separated from their families asking for asylum

Sen. James Lankford said in a statement last week that likening the migrant detention centers to incarceration camps “is a false equivalency.”

“What happened then is not what is happening now,” read the statement. “… Every country now knows if you come into our country with a child, you will be released. It is our responsibility to ensure the security and safety of all the children coming into our country, and I have confidence that will be done properly at Fort Sill.”

“I feel a heaviness because history repeated itself when they interned the Japanese Americans there and now they are taking these children that they claim to be unaccompanied by adults and keeping them at Fort Sill, and that’s just wrong,” said activist Rev. Steven B. Thompson. “That goes against our very human nature.”

Ina hopes the government will utilize alternatives to building walls and detaining children.

“Our hope is that children who are coming across the border are placed in community-based facilities, provided services and all effort be put into reunifying them with sponsors and family members,” said Ina.

“Unlike 1942, when America turned their backs on us while we were disappearing from our homes, our schools, our farms and our jobs — we’re here today to speak out, to protest the unjust incarceration of innocent people seeking refuge in this country,” Ina said.

“We stand with them, and we say, ‘Stop repeating history.'"

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Activist attorney to receive ABA's top honor

ASAM NEWS

Activist attorney Dale Minami will be awarded the American Bar Association’s highest honor when it presents him with its ABA Medal.

Minami is best known for overturning the conviction of Fred Korematsu, a Japanese American who challenged the order to report to an incarceration camp during World War II.

“Dale Minami has devoted a lifetime to breaking down stereotypes and advocating for Asian Pacific Americans,” ABA President Bob Carlson said. “His work in overturning Korematsu is legal legend, but it is just one of many instances in his career where he has fought for the protection of the rights of people who have been discriminated against. His determination and commitment to the rule of law has resulted in countless people receiving justice.”

Minami jumped into action when presented with evidence uncovered by history professor Peter Irons that the government withheld evidence that Japanese Americans posed no threat to the country. The Justice Department offered Korematsu a pardon after the new evidence surfaced. Korematsu refused to accept it.

“Fred and Kathryn indignantly stated, almost in unison, that we don’t want to accept the pardon,” Minami told the ABA Journal. If anything, we should pardon the government,” recalls Minami, a personal injury lawyer in the San Francisco Bay Area. “And that strength of character and strength of righteousness really inspired us to continue.”

Minami is a founder of the Asian Law Caucus in San Francisco which grew into Asian Americans Advancing Justice/Asian Law Caucus. He also founded the law firm Minami/Takaki in the mid-70’s.

” I think one of the things that I’m most proud of is having a minority firm survive for 44 years, and with a sense of values, sense of principles,” he says. “We were tested many times. … But over the years, I think, on balance, we’ve been able both to do good and do well.”

Minami has previously received the ABA’s Thurgood Marshall Award and Spirit of Excellence Award. He will receive the ABA Medal at the ABA’s General Assembly August 10 in San Francisco.

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Sunday Read: US is getting older and more diverse

America is starting to look like the people in this photo.

I'm still not used to it when the Filipina American grocery clerk addresses me with "po," an honorific term added on to show respect for an elder, as in "Salalmat, po!" (Thank you, sir.)

I was taken aback when a Filipino American I worked alongside with called me, "manong," another sign of respect for an "older brother."

My presence and position in this country points out two things -- America is getting older and more racially diverse. So the question is: Will wisdom come with aging?

It took me awhile but like many of the baby boomer generation, I finally conceded that I have gotten older. I was not alone.

The US as a whole continues to grow older with the median age increasing to 38.2 years in 2018, up from 37.2 years in 2010. The pace of this aging is different across race and ethnicity groups, according to new 2018 Population Estimates by demographic characteristics for the nation, states and counties, released today by the U.S. Census Bureau.

“The nation is aging — more than 4 out of every 5 counties were older in 2018 than in 2010. This aging is driven in large part by baby boomers crossing over the 65-year-old mark. Now, half of the U.S. population is over the age of 38.2,” said Luke Rogers, the Chief of the Population Estimates Branch at the Census Bureau. “Along with this general aging trend, we also see variation among race and ethnicity groups both in growth patterns and aging.”

As the nation continues to grow older, it is also changing by race and ethnicity. View the Census Bureau's graphic on the age and race distribution from 2010 to 2018 to see how the nation has grown more diverse. With the Fourth of July just weeks away, here's a snapshot of what the nation looks like based on the Census findings:

• California was the only state to have an Asian population larger than 5 million, at 6,890,703 in 2018. New York (1,922,974) and Texas (1,688,966) were the only two states that had a population between 1.0 million and 4.9 million.
• The American Indian and Alaska Native population was over 1.0 million in only one state, California, at 1,089,694 in 2018.
• In 2018, 36 states and the District of Columbia had a Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander population that was less than 20,000. The two states with the largest Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander populations in 2018 were Hawaii (382,261) and California (363,437).
• Of the 50 states and the District of Columbia, 20 had a white population of 5.0 million or more, 21 were between 1.0 million and 4.9 million, nine were between 500,000 and 999,999, and one, the District of Columbia, had a population between 100,000 and 499,999.

The Asian Population

• In 2018, 2.7 percent (86) of counties had an Asian population of 50,000 people or more. The Asian population was less than 1,000 people in 73.1 percent (2,297) of counties.
• Los Angeles County, California, had the largest Asian population in 2018 (1,720,889). King County, Washington, had the largest numeric increase in the Asian population, increasing by 23,932 (5.1 percent) between 2017 and 2018.
• Among counties with a total population of 20,000 or more in 2017 and 2018, the Asian population grew the fastest in Forsyth County, Georgia, increasing by 11.5 percent (3,734) between 2017 and 2018.

The American Indian and Alaska Native Population

• In 2018, 20 counties (0.6 percent) had an American Indian and Alaska Native population of 50,000 or more. Also in 2018, 635 counties (20.2 percent) had an American Indian and Alaska Native population between 1,000 and 4,999 and 1,272 (40.5 percent) counties had an American Indian and Alaska Native population that was between 100 and 499. The American Indian and Alaska Native population was less than 1,000 people in 2,219 (70.6 percent) counties.
• Los Angeles County, California had the largest American Indian and Alaska Native population in 2018 (231,340). Maricopa County, Arizona, had the largest numeric increase, growing by 3,745 (2.4 percent).
• Among counties with a total population of 20,000 or more in 2017 and 2018, the American Indian and Alaska Native population had the fastest growth in Clark County, Nevada, increasing by 3.5 percent (1,690) between 2017 and 2018.

The Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander Population

• In 2018, only three (0.1 percent) counties had a Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander population of 50,000 or more — these were Honolulu County (245,043) and Hawaii County (70,910) in Hawaii, and Los Angeles County, California (67,730). In 2018, 578 (18.4 percent) counties had a population between 100 and 499 people and 2,217 (70.6 percent) counties had a Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander population that was less than 100 people.
• Honolulu County, Hawaii, had the largest Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander population at 245,043 people in 2018. Clark County, Nevada, had the largest numeric growth, increasing by 1,458 between 2017 and 2018.
• Among counties with a population of 20,000 or more in 2017 and 2018, Pierce County, Washington, had the fastest Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander population increase, growing by 4.9 percent (1,085) between 2017 and 2018.

The White Population

• The white population remained the largest group in the nation at 78.9 percent (258,080,572), and had the largest numeric increase from 2017 to 2018 (1,055,588).
• In 2018, the white population was greater than or equal to 50,000 in 906 (28.8 percent) counties and between 10,000 and 49,999 people in 1,390 (44.2 percent) of counties. In 2018, 48 (1.5 percent) counties had a white population that was less than 1,000 people.
• Los Angeles County, California, had the largest white population, at 7.4 million in 2018. Maricopa County, Arizona had the largest increase in the white population between 2017 and 2018, growing by 60,749 (1.6 percent).
• Among counties with a population of 20,000 or more in 2017 and 2018, Williams County, North Dakota, had the fastest growth in the white population at 5.3 percent (1,596) between 2017 and 2018.

So, despite the fears of white supremacists, egged on by racists like Donald Trump, Steven Miller and other conservative TV and radio personalities, Whites are nowhere close to disappearing. They are still in the majority in most of the country ... for now.

But what the Census figures do show is that the US is changing and barring something disastrous like the construction of a 30-foot wall along our coastlines and borders -- demographic shifting is inevitable. Sometime in the mid-century, whites will make up less than 50% of the country according to population trends. 

How the different races and ethnic groups choose to share the economic and political power and learn to accommodate each other -- not only as neighbors but in the board rooms and halls of our capitols -- will determine the future of our country.

Jeremy Lin is a winner

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 Jeremy Linn at the Toronto Raptors' victory parade in downtown Toronto.

By Sam Louie
PSYCHOLOGY TODAY

When the Toronto Raptors won their first NBA Basketball Championship on June 13th, the nation of Canada exploded in celebration. One player, Jeremy Lin, a Taiwanese American was also on the roster. While his contribution on the court and playing time was minimal, he too celebrated as a member of the Raptors.

When media outlets pointed out that he made history by being the first Asian-American NBA Champion, many critics scoffed. They cited that he only played 27 minutes throughout the entire playoffs, with all the minutes meaningless to the outcome.

So the question gets raised, “Does Jeremy Lin deserve to call himself a champion?” Of course, he does. He won. He was on the roster. He practiced with the team. He was part of the process. Why can’t he celebrate that?

As an Asian American psychotherapist, diversity speaker, and trainer, I can tell you no one is upset he’s part of a winning team. Detractors are upset he’s getting celebrated as a champion with media coverage which typically follows players who played and impacted the game.

Think of all the major sports teams where each player on a winning championship team in each of their respective fields will get a ring, trophy, etc. regardless of whether they’re Tom Brady, his back-up quarterback(s), or any of the other 52 players of a 53 man roster. In fact, in NFL football, only 46 of these players may be eligible to play on game days. But regardless of whether they’re playing or not, if their team wins a Super Bowl, they also get a Super Bowl ring. Is that fair to starters? Does it mean the benchwarmers don’t deserve a ring or deserve to call themselves a “Super Bowl winner”?! In fact, if you google motivational speakers, you’ll find a number of former “Superbowl Champions” turned public speaker. I’ll guarantee you won’t know the majority of these “champions.”

For an NBA comparison, are you familiar with Lance Allred? I doubt it, unless you’re a basketball junkie, deaf, or a part of a deaf, basketball community. You see, Allred played less than three months in the NBA after joining the Cleveland Cavaliers in March of 2008. During that span, he averaged just 3.3 minutes per game. Some would call this a footnote. Some would declare his title as a former “NBA Player” a bit of a stretch. But not to the deaf community. He is seen as a role model and someone to aspire towards because as insignificant as his on-court contribution was in the NBA (I think he would even acknowledge this himself), his mere accomplishment of making it to the top marked Allred as the first legally deaf player in NBA history. He parlayed that accomplishment and is now an inspirational speaker and author.

With this comparison, should we knock Allred and clamor he didn’t “accomplish” anything? Ask the deaf community and they will resoundingly tell you otherwise. Ask the young men and women he speaks to if his words matter less because of his lack of playing time.

As for Lin, he should be congratulated. Not only for being a part of a winning organization and being seen as a role model to others of what’s possible (i.e. Asian Americans reaching the highest level not only in basketball but in any field you aspire towards) but for his perseverance and his talent. Lin is considered an “NBA Journeyman” having played for eight different NBA teams. But he’s also been in the league since 2010. So he’s persevered for nearly 10 years in a league where many players will never make it past one (see above reference to Allred). Lin himself has inspired a nation and the wider international Asian community that someone of Asian American descent can “make it” to the top.

The tragedy is some of his biggest critics today are other ethnic minorities. They ironically fail to recognize why race matters and are contemptuous that Lin has gotten so much exposure compared to their own achievements. This may be analogous to male White critics who wonder why every time a “first Black, first female, first Hispanic, (fill in the prestigious title here)” is celebrated.

The reason these individuals are celebrated is that they are the first of their kind to do so. While others may have reached the pinnacle, to become the first to do anything in your sphere of influence (e.g. the first in your family to graduate from college, the first to immigrate to a different country, the first to marry someone of a different race, etc.) marks a tremendous achievement only those in your community can truly appreciate. Those communities recognize how these achievers have fought off thousands of negative comments and naysayers. Not only that, they have to fight off the internal demons that also tell them they can’t do what they set out to accomplish. To sum up, these valiant and courageous people are more than their titles. And for those whose accomplishments are in the public spotlight like Lance Allred or Jeremy Lin, It’s their unyielding mindset to never give up and be a beacon of light to other like-minded individuals that truly makes them champions.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Sam Louie is a psychotherapist in private practice specializing in addictions, Asian American issues and Christian counseling. Prior to therapy, he worked more than a dozen years as an Emmy Award-winning television news reporter where he researched and reported on a number of stories related to addictions, culture and psychotherapy. You can reach him at www.samlouiespeaks.com.

immigrant communities on edge as Trump postpones ICE raids

Trump is playing with us. I hate it! He tweeted this moments ago.

Immigrants all over the US and their allies and advocates are gearing up for Sunday when Donald Trump says a massive roundup of immigrants, refugees and undocumented is scheduled to begin.

Twitter has been humming ever since Trump issued his own tweet on earlier this week that the deportation of "millions" will take place next week beginning as early as Sunday morning. There are tweets with phone numbers for legal representation, how to behave if ICE knocks on your door and what rights do potential deportees have.

ICE agents reportedly will target immigrants in Miami, Atlanta, Chicago, Baltimore, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, New Orleans, New York City, and San Francisco for deportation as early as Sunday, sources told the Miami Herald.

"The people that Ice will apprehend have already been ordered to be deported," Trump tweeted. "This means that they have run from the law and run from the courts. These are people that are supposed to go back to their home country. They broke the law by coming into the country, & now by staying."

Particularly vulnerable are the thousands of South and Southeast Asian Americans -- Cambodians, Vietnamese, Laotians, Bengalis, Malaysians, Afghanis -- whose families to sought asylum from America's wars in Asia, religious and ethnic persecution, those who have had run-ins with the law (even minor violatins) when they were teenagers and who ICE has targeted for deportation in the past year.
One of several immigrant advocacy groups, Define American, offered this advice: 

1. You don’t have to open the door if an ICE agent comes to your home. ICE is only allowed to enter your home if they have a valid search or arrest warrant with your correct name &/or address, signed by a judge or magistrate, not an ICE official.

2. You have the right to remain silent and don’t have to answer any questions. 

3. Do not sign anything without a lawyer present. 

4. Record your interaction by phone and contact a lawyer immediately. 

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Disney introduces TV's first Thai American lead character

Brenda Song and Matt Braly at Disney's Fan Fest last April.

ASAM NEWS

Animated series Amphibia premiered this week on Disney Channel and features Brenda Song voicing Anne Boonchuy, a Thai American teenager who gets transported to a mystical land of anthropomorphic amphibians.
“She has leaves in her hair. She’s missing a shoe. She’s blasé about everything,” Song said of the character Anne. “I was like, ‘Oh, my god, I kind of love her.'”

Song, who is Thai and Hmong, saw Anne as a chance to showcase her heritage through a role. Song is known for playing London Tipton in The Suite Life of Zack & Cody on Disney Channel.

“I remember [Song] during her audition, and she’s killing it,” said executive producer Matt Braly, who is half Thai. “One of the executives said to me, ‘You know, she’s also Thai.’ I remember being like, ‘I’m trying to evaluate the performance and that is just going to extremely bias me.’

“It’s always been a huge goal of mine to create a Thai character. From the very inception of Amphibia, I knew that Anne had to be Thai.”

The titular world of Amphibia is inspired by Braly’s own childhood summers in Bangkok. Anne’s messy appearance, with hair full of twigs and leaves, is based on a picture of Braly’s grandmother as a child.

“This amazing thing would happen every summer where, by the end of the trip, I wouldn’t want to leave,” said Braly. “This sensation of getting to a new place, getting very uncomfortable and slowly but surely adjusting was a sensation I wanted to bottle up for my own show.”

Song and Braly even called Braly’s mother for help to make sure Song pronounced Thai words in the script accurately.

“Something I really love about what we’re doing with the show is that we’re introducing our audience to a very specific culture, but she’s not defined by it,” said Song. “It’s just who she is.”

“These characters have different cultural backgrounds,” Braly added. “But it really is about this great universal story that anyone can hop in and enjoy.”

You can watch the full first episode here.

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Dave Bautista is 'awesome,' raves his 'Stuber' costar Kumail Nanjiani

Dave Bautista, left and Kumail Nanjiani team up in the film 'Stuber.'

On a promotional tour for his latest movie Stuber, Kumail Nanjiani appeared on The Late Show, hosted by Steven Colbert when Nanjiani couldn't heap enough praise on his costar Dave Bautista.

During the filming of the movie, costars Bautista and Nanjiani became close friends. Nanjiani said of his Filipino American costar. "I talk to him every day," he admitted.

Stuber is part of the wave of movies launched last August by the critical and box office success of Crazy Rich Asians featuring Asian American actors as the lead protagonists.

Naniani was effusive in his praise for his costar Dave Bautista, whom he described as "the sweetest guy." As an example of Bautista's thoughtfulness, the Pakistani American comedic actor told the amusing story how at the end of fiming Stuber, Bautista bought gifts for the entire crew. Nanjiani was put in an embarassing predicament because he had not bought any gifts for anybody.

A synopsis of the action-comedy: When a mild-mannered Uber driver named Stu (Kumail Nanjiani) picks up a passenger (Dave Bautista) who turns out to be a cop hot on the trail of a brutal killer, he’s thrust into a harrowing ordeal where he desperately tries to hold onto his wits, his life, and his five-star rating. Directed by Michael Dowse, this action-comedy from 20th Century Fox also stars Iko Uwais, Natalie Morales, Betty Gilpin, Jimmy Tatro, Mira Sorvino, and Karen Gillan.

Nanjiani and Bautista have become bigger names over the past five years, thanks to their work on the big and small screen alike. Nanjiani broke with his role in HBO’s hit comedy series Silicon Valley and has since landed an Oscar nomination for co-writing  and starring in The Big Sick. 

Similarly, Bautista has gone from being a WWE wrestling icon to a full-fledged movie star because of his portrayal of the alien Drax in the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise.

Stuber will be released to theaters this summer, July 12.

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Naomi Osaka in danger of losing her No. 1 ranking

No. 1 ranked Naomi Osaka had problems on Bermingham's grass courts.

Grass and clay tennis courts continue to baffle Naomi Osaka. She earned her No. 1 ranking among women tennis players by winning on the hard surfaces at the US  and the Australian Opens.

For the second tournament in a row, Osaka was eliminated early. In what was supposed to be a tuneup to Wimbledon's grass courts, Osaka was ousted by Yulia Prtintseve, the world's No. 43 ranked player,  6-1, 6-3.

On Thursday (June 20), from the begining the Japanese American player had trouble finding her footing, dropping the first three games without making a valiant effort. 

Noticing her low energy, coach Jermaine Jenkins did not hold back when the players changed courts.

“You got to get out of bed. Like you’re still asleep out here. You got to wake up,” said Jenkins sternly told Osaka. “Like, I need to see more energy; show me some passion; look invested.

“You know, like jump around. You got to get yourself going. You got to get your energy up.”

Osaka, playing for Japan, finally woke up in the second set but by then she had dug herself into a hold; a case of too little, too late.

At the French Open, which is played on clay, Osaka lost in the third round on June 1.

With French Open champion No. 2 Ashleigh Barty advancing earlier in the day, Osaka finds her No. 1 ranking in jeopardy. If the world's No. 2 player wins the grass-court title in Birmingham, she'll become No. 1 on Monday.

Earlier in the week, Osaka was asked whether her position on top of the rankings ladder was important to her. “During my entire clay season, it kind of mattered,” she replied. “And I think it showed because I was stressed out the entire time.

“So, for me, now, I'm just having fun. I'm enjoying it. And I know that if I play well, then I'll be No. 1. But you kind of have to deserve the spot that you're in and if I lose in the first round, I don't deserve to be No. 1.”

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TGIF Feature: CBS' 'Sunday Morning' features the building of the transcontinental railroad

SCREEN CAPTURE / CBS

Descendants of the Chinese workers who built the Transcontinental Railroad made sure that Chinese were not omitted in the recreation of the historic photo.

In case you missed it, last Sunday, CBS's Sunday Morning did a feature on the transcontinental railroad built 150 years ago. Most of the 6.5 minute segment was devoted to the Chinese workers who built the western portion of the railroad through the rugged Sierra Nevada mountain range.

The 20,000 Chinese men who worked on the transcontinental railroad were largely overlooked in US history books. The iconic historic  photo of the railroad's completion left out any of the Chinese workers.

Hundreds of descendants of the Chinese workers were determined to correct this oversight and participation was prominent in several May 10 ceremonies and events commemorating the  1505h anniversary of completion of the railroad  at Promontory Point, Utah to ensure that their ancestors receive the honor they deserved.

The popular low-key and often inspiring program hosted by Jane Pauley airs at 9 a.m. on CBS stations.

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