In Little Saigon, generational divide over immigrants found
LOS ANGELES — Sipping iced coffee with his wife at Tip Top Sandwiches in Little Saigon, Anh Quy reminisced about his early days in the United States.
After American troops pulled out of South Vietnam in 1975, the U.S. government let refugees into the country and helped them establish lives in places such as Orange County.
Quy felt welcome in his new home, but it’s a charity the 81-yearold wouldn’t extend to immigrants who come to the U.S. illegally.
“There’s crisis now because in California, we are so close to the border that when there’s so much travel … without control, it becomes chaos,” the former singer and marketing director said. “Illegal is not acceptable. It affects our safety.”
President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration has sparked criticism and protests across California. But among older residents of Little Saigon, he has found a corner of support for his hard-line tactics and rhetoric.
They too believe that those who want to come the United States should go through legal channels, just as they did.
“There are Vietnamese who perceive that people from Mexico didn’t sacrifice as much coming here. They think Mexico and the U.S. are so connected. You can’t go to Vietnam for the weekend. But from here, you can go to Mexico,” said Fred Smoller, an associate professor of political science at Chapman University.
Those attitudes could help Republican Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, a hard-liner on illegal immigration, in his bid for re-election in the 48th Congressional District, which includes Little Saigon. His seat is one of several in California traditionally held by the GOP that are tightly contested and could help determine control of the House.
Rohrabacher is campaigning largely on his support of Trump’s border wall and opposition to any kind of amnesty. His opponent, real estate investor Harley Rouda, says he wants a secure border and a path to citizenship for law-abiding immigrants who are in the country illegally. Republicans are trying to paint Rouda as a radical.
Support for Trump’s crackdown is far from universal in Orange County’s Vietnamese community. Younger generations, who tend to be more liberal than their parents and grandparents, have concerns about Trump.
They note the day-to-day reality that the economic engine of neighborhoods such as Little Saigon is often greased with the cheap labor of immigrants from Mexico and Central America, many of whom are in the country illegally.
“Honestly, Little Saigon or any of these ethnic communities may not survive” without Latino labor, said Catherine Dao, a 22-year-old receptionist from Fountain Valley. “Look at who’s cooking in the kitchen or sweeping the restaurant floors. The older generation may be stubborn or unaccepting, but I don’t think that way.”
It’s all part of a larger divide playing out in the community.