“I didn’t come from a family of lawyers. but I was raised with a pretty strong sense of right and wrong. And so growing up, I felt like a lot of stuff I saw just wasn’t right.” Khan said when asked what inspired him.

Joe Khan is a first generation Pakistani immigrant, as his father had arrived here in the sixties. He grew up with other first generation immigrants of different ethnicities, stemming from Mexico, Malaysia, and even other South Asian countries. They all grew up with a simple connection, rice. It was a food found in all their cultures and that they all shared and although their countries were separated by thousands of miles had this one common piece. 

“I actually spent a lot of time as I got older, with other, first generation kids who just ate a lot of rice in their house. So we, that was like one thing that drew a lot of our cultures together is whether it was Pakistan, Mexico, Malaysia, we all just ate a lot of rice” Khan said when asked how being a first generation influenced his way of justice. 

Joe Khan is the 35th DA, District Attorney, of Bucks County PA, and is the most recent Democrat elected since 1891. In his youth he grew up in Philadelphia PA, alongside other 1st Generation immigrants, reading Superman and Batman comics. Developing a sense of justice and that people like him were being treated unfairly and unjustice. He wanted to be much like the hero’s whose comics he read, being able to stick up for the little guy when they had no voice to use. He wanted to stand up against the corrupt and unfair community that had been built up to suppress people like his father.

This line of justice is what pushes Khan to act. He’s seen and experienced how immigrant families are treated and cheated in the system simply because they don’t know or understand it. He’s lived in these communities and understands what it means for these families to struggle and just get by even when they’re trying to live an honest life. He also knows that it’s harder for them to speak up about it to avoid any trouble as to avoid any negative attention.

“In that first wave of folks coming in, kind of keeping your head down, doing your thing for a lot of reasons people had that approach, not drawing too much attention to yourself . . . I have seen Korean, Chinese business owners, being targeted because of that cultural issue,  people deciding, you know what, I’m going to rob these folks and they’re probably not going to raise their hand and complain about it and call nine one one so I can get away with it.” Khan said when asked how being a first generation influenced his way of justice. 

This idea of people who aren’t able to raise their hand and speak up for what they want is why Khan acts. He wants the people of Bucks County to understand the DA’s office is here for the people and is willing to use whatever power he and his team has to support them. To ensure that people are being treated fairly, and right, and not just being used by their oppressors. One such way he was able to act on this and protect the community of Bucks County was on people buying used cars. The Spanish speaking community had called into their consumer protection line and the big thing that they kept bringing up was that they felt like they were being mistreated and ripped off. So Khan and his team looked at New Jersey that had a law that protected such. With support they were then able to pass said law, giving people a bill of rights when it came to purchasing a used car. This then helped build that bridge of trust between the DA’s office and the Spanish community as they were able to get the help they asked for, and it also supported everyone else who might’ve been dealing with the same problem.

He also had a strong influence during his time at the University of Chicago. He was able to meet a professor who was able to help him understand his justice that he wanted to pursue. Someone who much like him wanted to push back against the cultural barrier and be able to help everyone in the community. Even when they’re constantly being struck down they both got up to keep fighting the good fight. 

“He taught courses on race in the law, which was very much an interest of mine. How the legal system could be unfair to folks, because of their race and their background. . .he had grown up always kind of feeling different and kind of  feeling like an outsider. And when he helped me understand when I was about your age, is that having to always kind of build bridges between communities. Every time I met somebody because no one had the same background as me. That wasn’t going to hold me back as a public interest lawyer. That was going to be my superpower. So his name was Barack Obama” Khan said when asked where he went to law school.

In all, Khan as the DA of Bucks County wants to keep working and fighting for his community, to make sure that everyone is able to live as safely as possible and to get rid of that cultural barrier. He wants the public to know of this resource they have and to use it to their advantage to help not only themselves but their fellow neighbors.