AMERASIANS WITHOUT BORDERS

AMERASIANS WITHOUT BORDERS

A NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION

At Sunset Blvd. Investigation’s (SBI) we specialize in clients that are adoptees trying to locate their birth parents.  We also specialize in locating missing adults, most often within the United States.  The case you are about to read was unique, because the client was Amerasian, and my research subsequently took me on a journey to the far reaches of Vietnam to Wisconsin, Florida, Georgia, Michigan and back to California.      

Amerasian Defined:  Amerasian is defined as a person of mixed American and Asian descent, born in East or Southeast Asia to an Asian mother and a United States military father.  Other terms used to describe Amerasians are “War babies” and “Children of the dust.”

According to Nguyen Phan Que Mai, USA Today Opinion contributor, “about 100,000 Amerasians were born during the war from relationships between Vietnamese women and U.S. soldiers.” Nguyen Phan Que Mai wrote the novel “Dust Child”, as well as being the author of the Internationally bestselling novel “The Mountains Sing.”  Kirk V. Tran, is the executive producer of “Intersections,” an award-winning documentary series about Amerasians, based on the novel “The Mountains Sing.”

The United States Government enacts the “Amerasian Homecoming Act.” was written in 1987, passed in 1988, and implemented in 1989.  Congress enacted the Amerasian Homecoming Act, which allows a Vietnamese Amerasian born in Vietnam, between January 1, 1963 – January 1, 1976, and fathered by a U.S. citizen, to seek admission to the United States and adjustment of status to lawful permanent resident (LPR).

On August 6, 1987, the United States House of Representatives, 100th Congress, also passed the Amerasian Homecoming Act, which was written in 1987, passed in 1988, and implemented in 1989. This Act allowed mothers and other immediate family members of certain Vietnamese Amerasians born in Vietnam, between January 1, 1963 – January 1, 1976, and fathered by a U.S. citizen, to seek admission to the United States and adjustment of status to lawful permanent resident (LPR).   Approximately 23,000 Amerasians and 67,000 of their relatives entered the United States under this act.

Our Client’s (Jenny Tran) Story:

“You found my father!  Is it good?  Is he alive?  Please tell me what you found….”  These were the first words spoken in disbelief after I advised our client, Jenny Tran, that I had located her biological father and that she also has a sister!  The client had never met her father and had wondered for decades if she should attempt to find him.  She was conflicted because she was raised by her mother and a loving step father whom she considered “her dad.”  

In late December 2023 Ms. Tran contacted me and said she was ready to search for her father.  I inquired as to what she knew about him and she said only that he was a United States soldier who fought in the Vietnam war during the late 1960’s to the early 1970’s.  She knew he was Caucasian but never knew his first or last name.  Her mother, although still alive, was unable to recall any further information due to her advanced years and was  in her teens during the relevant time period.  I advised Ms. Tran that we would start with her submitting a DNA test via Ancestry.com and their results would guide my investigation.  After the results came back, there was a high level DNA match not only for her father but it also included a sister. 

Per Ancestry.com they measure the confidence of a DNA match by centimorgans (cM), which are units of genetic linkage between two people. The higher the number of cM shared, the closer the relationship between the two people. 

Below are the confidence levels for Ancestry.com matches: 

• Extremely high: More than 60 cM, or almost 100% 
• Very high: 45–60 cM, or about 99% 
• High: 30–45 cM, or about 95% 
• Good: 16–30 cM, or above 50%

From there my investigation began.  After an extensive and comprehensive search I was able to identify, locate and finally spoke with her biological father and sister.  Out of respect for my client’s privacy, the rest of the story is for her to tell.

Amerasians Without Boarders Organization: 

During the course of my investigation, our client, Jenny Tran, told me about a seriously dedicated nonprofit organization known as Amerasians Without Boarders (AWB.) AWB is based in the United States (Washington State area) and was formed in 2013 by Jimmy Arthur Miller (Nhật Tùng) who is the Chief Executive Officer and Founder at Amerasians Without Borders.  

Ms. Tran subsequently introduced me to Mr. Miller. I have had the pleasure to speak and meet with Mr. Miller, who prefers to be referred to as “Jimmy” on many occasions.  I strongly felt that for the purpose of this blog, and the content matter pertaining specifically to the Amerasian community, that I introduce him and the truly heart felt work that consumes his daily life. Jimmy stated that AWB has only one mission, which is reuniting Amerasians who were born in Vietnam with their American families.

Introduction to Mr. Miller (Nhật Tùng)

Jimmy is himself an Amerasian, fathered by a United States serviceman.  He was born to a Vietnamese mother during the Vietnam War in 1967.  Jimmy spent his childhood and youth in Vietnam until 1989 when he emigrated to the United States with his mother and siblings, under the “Amerasian Homecoming Act.”  Jimmy now resides in Spokane Valley, Washington. 

Jimmy, like many children, recalls a childhood filled with bullying and abuse, but for Jimmy it was different. The son of an American soldier and a Vietnamese woman, Jimmy was born in the shadow of the Vietnam War.  He was among the thousands of babies left behind after the United States withdrew from the conflict in 1975. Miller’s parents were married, but a combat injury forced his father to return to the United States when Miller was a baby. Jimmy added that many of the babies were abandoned by their mothers, often dropped off at orphanages or even thrown into trash cans amid fears they would be attacked by the Communist government.

Jimmy doesn’t know the exact number, but he believes there are approximately thirty five to fifty thousand Vietnamese Amerasians now living in the United States. Jimmy is currently, and tirelessly, working to help Amerasians find their fathers and/or mothers and to help those still living in Vietnam to facilitate immigration to the United States.  AWB also sponsors Amerasians who are emigrating to the United States. This is all possible due to donations, mainly collected during huge events such as the AWB’s annual Reunions.

Since the inception of AWB, which he started as a pilot program, Jimmy believes there are approximately less than three hundred Amerasians still left behind in Vietnam. Since he began the DNA program in November 2013, around the Thanksgiving holidays, Jimmy estimates the “pilot program” has brought around 160-170 Amerasians and their current family members to the United States.

He added that AWB has provided approximately one thousand DNA kits purchased from both Ancestry and Family Tree DNA laboratories.  AWB also provides free DNA kits to Vietnam veterans if and when they request one.

Amerasian children, now adults with their own children, who were stranded during the Vietnam war, still again find themselves facing the very real possibility that they and their children are destined to remain in Vietnam for an eternity due to the United States current laws.  Many of these Amerasian children are now over twenty one years old and should have been allowed to come to the United States with their Amerasian parent.  There’s a section in the law  that reads in part “…..up to the point of travel at the age of twenty one…”  Jimmy cites one case in particular that he personally worked on wherein the daughter of an Amerasian passed her initial interview, her required physical, vaccinations and the governments DS-260 Immigrant Visa Electronic Application, but when the VISA to the United States arrived she was denied entry because she had turned twenty one only five days after almost one year of waiting.      

Jimmy works closely with officers within the United States Embassy & Consulate in Vietnam as he helps petition Amerasians to immigrate to the United States when they have a positive DNA match.  In addition, he also assists them as they resettle when they first arrive in the Washington State area.

Anyone desiring to contact Jimmy for assistance or media inquiries, his contact information is:

Jimmy Miller (Nhật Tùng)
Amerasians Without Borders
P.O. Box 784, Spokane Valley, WA 99037
(509)-263-7903            
Email:  jimmya.miller@comcast.net              
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/AmerAsiansWithoutBorders/    

The pictures below were photographed during the August 2024 AWB Reunion in Atlanta, Georgia by Charles Bournes:

In August of 2024 I was invited to attend and speak at the annual Amerasians Without Boarders (AWB) Reunion which was held in Atlanta, Georgia.  There were over five hundred attendees at the event which featured guest singers from all across the United States, the majority being Amerasians, and provided the entertainment for the evening.  It was awe-inspiring to see hundreds of people with shared values and love coming together to celebrate their heritage. 

Guest Speaker: Steve Polak – Co-Founder Sunset Blvd. Investigations, Inc.

Mr. & Mrs. Miller at the AWB Reunion Red Carpet.

Guest Speaker: Derek Powell – Executive Board Chair (Interim) – The Amerasian Coalition

Stage for the MC, Speakers and Entertainers

Some of the AWB Attendees Group Photo!!! 

Steve Polak’s Bio: https://www.sunsetblvdinv.com/team/steve-polak/

Professional Memberships:

• The Professional Background Screening Association (PBSA) https://thepbsa.org/
• Southern California Fraud Investigators Association (SCFIA) https://scfia.org/
• World Association of Detectives (WAD) https://www.wad.net/
• California Association of Licensed Investigators (CALI) https://www.cali-pi.org/
• California Narcotics Officers’ Association (CNOA) – https://www.cnoa.org/