In Caps and Gowns, Students Tell Congress We Need the DREAM Act: Korean American Youth to Join National Mobilization to DC

For Immediate Release 

Contact: Morna Ha 323-937-3703

June 8, 2007

In Caps and Gowns, Students Tell Congress We Need the DREAM Act: Korean American Youth to Join National Mobilization to DC

[Los Angeles] During this critical time in the immigration reform debate, young people will be gathering in
Washington, DC to make their voices heard. As a part of the “Don’t Just DREAM, Act!” Graduation Ceremony, youth from at least 14 different states will take part in a mock graduation ceremony in front of invited members of Congress to celebrate the achievements of immigrant youth and to stress the importance of higher education opportunities for all.

Youth from the Korean Resource Center (KRC), YKASEC-Empowering the Korean American Community and Korean American Resource & Cultural Center (KRCC) will represent thousands of students in California, New York and Illinois who urgently need the DREAM (Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors) Act. They will depart from Los Angeles next week and will carry the hopes and aspirations of their peers who believe that the DREAM Act is critical to the future of immigrant youth and to
America. Introduced in March 2007, the bipartisan DREAM Act (H.R. 1275 and S. 774) is federal legislation that would open the doors for immigrant students for higher education and a way to give back to the country they grew up in. DREAM provisions are also attached to current immigration reform legislation. Under today’s unfair immigration system, every year 65,000 highly motivated and bright students graduate from high school with few options to succeed. Youth, regardless of being US-born or immigrant, are fighting to change the laws so that everyone can be given a chance to give back to the country they call home –
America. The “Don’t Just DREAM, Act!” event is being sponsored by the United We DREAM Coalition, a coalition of local and national organizations, educators, and concerned constituents working to remove barriers keeping immigrant students from continuing their academic and future development.                                                                                                                                                                                       ###