Seeing Red

He took the oath as a U.S. citizen in 1985, five years and one day after setting foot in the country. “The law says you have to be here five years” before qualifying for citizenship, he explains.

Years passed, and most of the children migrated to the Twin Cities, several by way of the University of Minnesota. Mainly to be closer to them, he and Mai Vu bought a rundown St. Paul building in 1989 and opened the Capital Market. Renovating the upstairs living quarters took some time. At first, he says, they lived in the kitchen, an 8-by-12-foot room.

The market’s location, next to a pawn shop and along a strip dotted with Asian shops and restaurants, is still far from upscale. But when the Phams moved into the area, it was downright dangerous. “Lots of trouble,” he recalls. “Crime. Prostitutes. Robbery. You didn’t want to walk down the street even in daytime.” He recalls at least three occasions when the Capital Market was robbed, as well as the weapons employed: one knife, one real gun, one fake gun.

"It's hard for non-Vietnamese to understand the dynamics," says Pham's daughter. There is "a small group of people" who, "back in Vietnam, held high positions. And they live for those days."

Pham became a community activist. In the early ’90s, he helped organize an anti-crime committee to clean up his stretch of University Avenue and was voted its chairman. He also got involved in state Republican politics as a campaign volunteer and supporter of candidates including Governor Tim Pawlenty and former St. Paul Mayor and current U.S. Senator Norm Coleman.

In 2002, on Coleman’s recommendation, Pham was appointed by President George W. Bush to the board of directors of the national Vietnamese Education Foundation, an agency created by the U.S. Congress to improve relations between the United States and Vietnam through educational-exchange programs.

Tuan Pham, in short, fits the stereotype of an achieving immigrant: a pillar of his community, a presidential appointee, at least two of his kids holding postgraduate degrees from the University of Minnesota (one is daughter Lan, who has a PhD in applied economics).

He also remained active in the Catholic Church, both in Minnesota and in Vietnam, where he has helped with projects such as raising funds for small schools. In fact, Pham’s political troubles began with a seemingly innocuous incident during a visit to St. Paul by a Catholic bishop.