We Rise Together

The main subjects of the video are:
– Phoeun You, a Cambodian man who came to the US as a refugee at age three, and lived here almost his entire life. He was deported in 2022.
– Phoeun You’s family, who live in Las Vegas. They are survivors of the Cambodian War.
– So Young Lee, an immigrant rights attorney with Asian Law Caucus.
– API RISE, an Asian American Pacific Islander Native Hawaiian organization that helps the formerly-incarcerated.
– Nikkei Progressives, a grassroots Japanese American community organization.
Over 16,000 Southeast Asians who live in the US are at risk of deportation to countries they have never set foot in, or where they have suffered trauma. Many who have been incarcerated, and served their full time, have been imprisoned by ICE and deported upon their release.

The goal of the video is to educate the community, to advocate pardons for those who may be deported, to change immigration policy, and to demonstrate the power of supporting each other and working together.

Credits
Writer: Nikkei Progressives
Producer: Alan Kondo
Executive Producer: Nikkei Progressives
Director of Photography: Nikkei Progressives
Editor: Alan Kondo

Plays in

TALES FROM THE NEIGHBORHOOD

These four films tell the stories of communities galvanizing together in the face of oppression, violence, and injustice. They remind us that joy and play are just as important as grit and resilience, and often go hand-in-hand.