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Anti-immigrant Proposals in Local Law Enforcement

By March 28, 2006No Comments

On January 25, members of the Immigration Enforcement Committee, including NAKASEC and KRC, held a press conference before a public hearing held by the Board of Supervisors on the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).KRC Immigrant Rights Coordinator, Sungpyo Ma, spoke at the press conference stating the negative impacts the MOU would have on the Korean American community.Subjected to immigration raids and other unjust questioning at bus stop and shopping malls, Korean Americans and the wider immigrant community already have concerns on how immigration enforcement is carried out.Although the MOU is designed to be carried out in jail facilities, it would widen the gap between effective law enforcement and the community.Moreover, it falls as part of a series of anti-immigrant community safety proposals since the mid-1990s.

After the press conference, KRC and NAKASEC attended the public hearing, where NAKASEC program associate, Morna Ha, reiterated the faultiness of the MOU to the Board of Supervisors.However, the MOU passed by a 3-2 vote as a 6-month pilot program.The continuation of the program will be based on efficiency and availability of federal funding to keep the program running.

Following the hearing at the Board of Supervisors meeting, on January 26, immigrant rights , civil rights, and civil liberties advocates, lawyers, and community members held a press conference to express disappointment and outrage at this passage of the MOU.NAKASEC and KRC executive directors, EunSook Lee and Dae Joong Yoon spoke at the press conference to express disappointment and outrage at the passage of the MOU and affirmed commitment to monitor the 6-month implementation and work to discontinue to program.

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