In the unlikely swing state of Texas, a burgeoning Asian American population will be a major influence on the result of the US presidential election on Wednesday.
Most recent polling shows Trump holds a narrow four-point lead over Joe Biden in Texas, which is historically a Republican-held state, voting red in every presidential race since 1976.
Henry Nguyen is a criminal lawyer, gun enthusiast and one nearly three and a half million undecided voters in Texas. He is also one of the state’s 795,600 eligible Asian American voters, who make up the fastest-growing ethnic group in the US.
The Texan lawyer is a gun owner and believes the country’s second amendment, the right to be armed, should be protected.
“I'm going to do everything I can to protect my family. And I would hate for that right to be taken away,” Henry said.
In a country deeply divided by the pandemic and racial tensions, Asian Americans, like Henry, are feeling the need to protect themselves with firearms.
“The Republicans on one side don't want any type of gun control whatsoever,” Henry said.
“But every single candidate has indicated on the Democrat side that they are for really stringent gun control.”
Henry is particularly put-off by calls to ban the semi-automatic weapon the A-R15.
Vietnamese Trump supporters rally in Texas. Source: Dateline
The new faces of Texas
The Houston metropolitan area is home to nearly half a million Asian Americans - a significant proportion of which are Vietnamese refugees.
Many from the city’s Vietnamese communities have conservative values and see President Donald Trump as a strong anti-Communist leader.
Fifty-year-old Lila, a refugee, works to boost attendance at Vietnamese Trump rallies. On weekends, she is campaigning for Trump outside a local war memorial, accompanied by a group of Vietnamese women dressed in traditional wear.
“President Trump -- he loves America. He loves his country. He loves his people. And that’s why we want him in the office again… He make[s] America great”
“[It’s] the fact that he works on the border - building the wall to stop illegal immigrants,” she said.
“They don’t work hard or pay taxes to contribute to this country. Those are the ones that need to stay out.”
But the President’s efforts to crack down on immigration appeal to many Republicans in the district, but may not help with other voters in an area where more than a quarter of the population was born outside of the US.
Lila Vu poses in an American flag dress. Source: Dateline
The Kamala factor
Dallas, the unofficial capital of Texas, is another city transformed by Asian Americans.
Indian and Pakistani Americans alone account for about 34 per cent of the total Asian American population in the state.
Chanda Parbhoo, the founder of a non-profit organisation mobilising South Asians to vote, says having Kamala Harris in the race has invigorated the local community.
“When I arrived in Texas, I was 12 years old, I always felt that there was them, the elected officials, and there was us, and [participating in politics] was never something for us to do,” she said.
“Having Kamala at the top of the ticket, being a woman is just a game-changer for so many people.”
Kamala Haris is the daughter of Jamaican and Indian parents. Chanda believes her heritage could encourage a huge sector of the Asian community to vote Democrat.
“I think everybody was okay with Joe Biden. But the minute he chose her, people started calling me and saying, what can I do? How can I get involved?”
