Mourning the loss of Tam Tran, immigrant rights activist; Petition to request U.S. citizenship for her family

by Tom Chen

We mourn the loss of Tam Tran (27) and Cynthia Felix (26) who died in a car accident in Maine on May 15, 2010. Both were fierce fighters in the struggle for the rights of undocumented immigrants.

A graduate of UCLA, Tam was pursuing a PhD in American Studies at Brown University. She was an incredible activist and organizer, a talented filmmaker, and a recognized leader in the national movement for immigrant rights. She is known for testifying before Congress in 2007 on behalf of undocumented students in support of the DREAM Act. Three days afterwards, ICE retaliated by detaining her family, and Tam was forced into hiding.

Tam was born in Germany to refugee parents who fought communism in their country. When she was six years old, the family moved to California. They requested asylum in the U.S., but their application remains in limbo. Tam and her family are stateless: Germany will not accept them back because they are not of German origin and return to Vietnam is impossible given the family’s anti-communist history.

In honor of Tam's life and work, we are trying to introduce a private bill to award citizenship to her family and to her, posthumously. Please take a moment to sign the petition at the link below.

In the words of Kohei Ishihara of the Providence Youth Student Movement, Tam "paved a road that we all follow, and many of us will continue to build. May you rest in peace and know that the struggle for justice continues."

Sign petition to request citizenship for Tam and her family:

For more info on Tam:
http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/obituaries/articles/2010/05/17/tam_tra...
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2007-10-16-Dream_N.htm
http://immigration.change.org/blog/view/celebrating_dream_act_sheroes_ta...
http://www.nguoi-viet.com/absolutenm/anmviewer.asp?a=113016&z=3

Lost and Found", a film by Tam Tran

To help Tam and Cynthia's families: