This week on The Bánh Mì Chronicles, host Randy Kim brings you an urgent, on-the-ground report with Lilly Le (she/her), Community Organizing Director at the Vietnamese Association of Illinois (VAI). Lilly works to build community power among Vietnamese people in Illinois through engagement and leadership development.

In this critical discussion, we address the twin crises currently impacting Vietnamese and other immigrant communities in Chicago, particularly in the Argyle Street area of Uptown:

• The Climate of Fear: Lilly shares how the recent, highly-publicized ICE raids are instilling widespread fear and anxiety in the Vietnamese community across the Chicagoland area.

• The SNAP Crisis: We discuss the severe impact of the current interruption and changes to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, threatening food security for elders and low-income families.

• VAI’s Action Plan: Lilly outlines the immediate, vital work VAI and its community partners are doing to inform the public of their rights, provide legal and material resources, and offer essential mutual aid and support to those affected.

• Community Impact: Lilly speaks to the lasting effects of these political and humanitarian crises and how Vietnamese individuals are processing and mobilizing against the escalating threats to their safety and stability.

This conversation is essential listening for understanding the immediate need for mutual aid and community power-building in a time of crisis.

Support VAI’s Work:

• Vietnamese Association of Illinois (VAI):

  https://hnvi.org/

• VAI IG: https://www.instagram.com/vai_chicago/

  • Note to listeners: VAI provides a range of services including Legal Assistance and Immigrant and Refugee Resources.

    
    

Linh “Lilly” Le (she/her) is a Community Services Manager at the Vietnamese Association of Illinois. Her work focuses on building community and power among Vietnamese people in Illinois through intergenerational community engagement and leadership development. Before joining VAI, she was a student organizer with UChicago United at the University of Chicago, fighting for material resources and building power among students of color and the surrounding community. She received her BA in Sociology and Critical Race and Ethnic Studies from the University of Chicago. Lilly is committed to grassroots power-building work to equip our communities with tools for healing and self-determination.