Immigration attorney Jimmy Pham has announced that he will run for California’s 45th congressional district, The Orange County Register reports.
The district is currently represented by Republican Michelle Steel. Last year, AAPI Democrat Jay Chen ran against Steel but failed to unseat her.
“I’m running to unleash our economy, make our communities safer, attempt to resolve the border crisis and make parents comfortable with sending their children to school again, without fear of a mass shooting,” Pham said in his announcement, according to The Orange County Register. “We can only realize America’s potential with fresh leadership, common sense ideals, and the willingness to get things done.”
According to The Orange County Register, Pham and his family were refugees who escaped Vietnam by boat in 1975. He has lived in Westminster, California, since 1983. His father, according to an old campaign website, was one of the first Vietnamese dentists in the area.
Pham spent much of his career working as an immigration attorney. He has helped immigrants obtain green cards, work permits and citizenship. He has also helped the avoid deportation.
The 45-year-old attorney has joined a growing list of Democratic candidates who are hoping to defeat Steel in 2024. According to The Los Angeles Times, Garden Grove Councilwoman Kim Bernice Nguyen, attorney Cheyenne Hunt and Aditya Pai are also Democratic candidates hoping to unseat Steel.
“As our community emerges from a global pandemic, we ought to elect leaders whose vision is fixed firmly forward to brighter days ahead — not the petty squabbles of the past,” Pai said in a statement according to The Los Angeles Times. “I’m running because it is time for my generation to step up, and to show how we move past the division, loss, loneliness, and isolation that we have all just endured. Let’s move forward to build a future where the American Dream is a lived reality for all of us.”
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