Your Action is Needed Today!
Please read and submit your comment.

On April 2, USCIS issued a long awaited proposed regulation that, if implemented, would allow the stateside processing of waivers to the 3- and 10-year bar to re-entry for the immediate familymembers of United States Citizens.  Immigrant advocacy groups have called this the ‘Family Unity Waiver’.

Click here to see the proposed rule.

These changes could have the impact of keeping tens of thousands offamilies together during an administrative process that could take months or longer to complete, and family members would be able to avoid certain hardships under current regulations that force them to return to their countries of origin.  The proposal would have the added benefit of relieving administrative and budgetary burdens on federal agencies, and remove an important disincentive for family members to come forward for fear that they may be separated from loved ones for prolonged periods of time.

Your comment to support this rule change is needed today!

Instructions

• Go to:  http://www.regulations.gov/#!submitComment;D=USCIS-2012-0003-0001
• Copy and paste the sample letter below into the “Type Comment Field”
• Include your Name and address on the left hand side.
• Hit submit

**Let us know you submitted a comment! Hit “Like” on our Facebook post or Tweet us!

[SAMPLE LETTER]

Dear Director Mayorkas:

The three- and ten-year bars are tearing many families apart. I applaud the Department of Homeland Security for recognizing that these bars are creating terrible hardship for families. Korean Americans and Asian Americans understand the cruel pain of family separation as they experience the longest wait times to reunite with their loved ones and many live in households with individuals with mixed immigration statuses.

I urge the Department to adopt this proposal along with the following improvements: 1) Embrace all families separated by the bars, including sons and daughters of U.S. citizens and immigrant visa-eligible family members of lawful permanent residents; 2) Ensure confidentiality in processing of waivers.Families must have the security that stateside processing will support family unity. The Department must ensure that applications remain confidential and not trigger removal proceedings; and 3) Make the standards clear. The “extreme hardship’ standard should be clearly defined, be evenly applied, and include the financial and emotional effects of separation.

Thank you.

[Your Name]

Download a PDF of the blueprint here.

On May 8th, the National Council of Asian Pacific Americans (NCAPA) released the “2012 Blueprint announced the release of the “NCAPA 2012 Policy Blueprint for Action: Our Communities. Our Priorities. Our Country.” The Blueprint serves as an entry point to learn more about six top priority issue areas facing Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders: Civil Rights, Education, Health, Housing and Economic Justice, Immigration and NHPI issues. Along with an introduction to these issues, there are also recommendations for stakeholders, policymakers and community leaders on how they can bring greater attention to and address the needs faced by AA and NHPI communities.

We encourage community-based organizations and leaders to share this Blueprint with others so that stakeholders, policymakers and allies can better understand the issues impacting AA and NHPI communities and ensure that AA and NHPI communities are continuously part of the policy discussion.

Help us spread the word about the blueprint!

• SAMPLE TWEET – “@NCAPAtweets unveils 2012 Blueprint for Action – learn abt 6 top priority issues impacting AA & NHPI communities! bit.ly/JMbfDU #AAPI”

NAKASEC staff has been pretty busy these last few weeks! I was in New York City, speaking on NAAEA’s panel about our affiliates’ youth organizing efforts around the DREAM Act and back in DC, Jane, our deputy director, was busy prepping for the immigration roundtable at the Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) summit.

Below is a glimpse into both events from my perspective as a speaker at the NAAEA Summit, and as an attendee at the AANHPI Summit!

Education and Immigration breakout session (Photo Credit: NAKASEC)

On April 28^th, I hopped onto a bus to take the four-hour bus ride to New York City to take part in the National Asian American Education Advocates (NAAEA) Summit that was being hosted by the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF). NAAEA brought together over 50 Asian American youth and adult allies from around the country who come from a variety of fields ranging from social services to policy to organizing to discuss the many different issues impacting Asian American youth and share strategies on how to address them. Issues ranged from mental health to gang violence to anti-Asian bullying to the DREAM Act.

I was invited to speak during the ‘Education & Immigration’ breakout session, specifically talking about DREAM Act and NAKASEC’s youth organizing efforts. I gave overviews of our youth organizing groups, AKASIA and FYSH, at KRC and KRCC respectively and discussed how both youth groups use the DREAM Act as an organizing tool to provide direct services to other Korean American and Asian American undocumented youth and allies as well as a starting point for youth to become engaged in other social justice issues. I was joined by a youth leader from Desis Rising Up and Moving (DRUM) based in New York City and Tony Choi, an undocumented Korean American youth who interned for KRC last summer and now organizes in the NYC/NJ-area. The 15 breakout session participants engaged in dialogue around what we thought it would take to finally pass the federal DREAM Act as well as other strategies undocumented youth have pursued in this current political climate in attaining higher education.

At the end of the weekend, I was excited to have met fellow Asian American youth workers and learn about the new and different approaches they take in doing youth work. However I think the most fulfilling part was learning from the youth themselves and seeing the passion and drive they have in empowering their communities. It is through these youth that I continue to feel inspired and energized to do this work!

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Immigration Roundtable (Photo Credit: NAKASEC)

On May 8th, 2012, the National Council on Asian Pacific Americans (NCAPA) hosted the 2012 Asian American, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander (AANHPI) summit in Washington, DC. Over 300 people from across the country descended on the nation’s capital to engage in discussion with policymakers, network with national and local community leaders and bring attention to our community’s issues.

NCAPA’s subcommittees each planned and facilitated roundtables on the following topics: immigration, education, civil rights, health and housing and economic justice.

As co-chairs of the immigration subcommittee, NAKASEC and AAJC coordinated the immigration roundtable, which was facilitated by Morna Ha, executive director of NAKASEC and featured panelists who spoke on the DREAM Act and enforcement and deportation policies. Speakers included:

• Caroline Fan, Associate Director of APALA
• Yuki Suren, a Mongolian undocumented youth from Seattle
• Angela Arboleda, Senior Policy Advisor on Hispanic and Asian Affairs, Office of Senator Harry Reid
• Allison Rose, Legislative Director, Office of Rep. Judy Chu
• Mia-Lia Kiernan, community organizer from One Love Movement
• Pang Houa Moua-Toy, Director of Communications at SEARAC, shared the work that SEARAC has done on a policy and advocacy perspective to keep families together.

About 25 people participated in the roundtable. Congressman Mike  Honda, CAPAC’s Immigration Taskforce Chair also provided welcoming remarks.

We look forward to sharing out our stories more in the coming months!

WHAT: NAKASEC is hosting a fundraiser to raise money for our 5th annual DREAM Scholarship Fund (DSF). Come meet NAKASEC staff and mingle with other like-minded, progressive individuals all the while supporting DSF! Light refreshments will be served. Suggested donation of $25.

WHEN: Thursday, June 7th, 2012 from 6pm – 8:30pm

WHERE: 2nd Floor Ballroom, 1628 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009

QUESTIONS?: Contact Joyce Yin, program associate at jyin@nakasec.org or 202-299-9540.

ABOUT DSF: Our DREAM Scholarship Fund (DSF) was founded by Korean American youth who tirelessly campaigned for passage of the DREAM Act, legislation that would provide a pathway to legalization for eligible immigrant students in the United States who attend college. While we will continue working towards the immediate passage of the DREAM Act, we also started to look at other barriers to higher education. One such barrier is that financially needy students are less inclined to pursue higher education because of the costs. Thus, the DREAM Scholarship Fund was established and is operated under the beliefs that education is a human right and that education is key to America’s prosperity.

DSF is funded entirely by the organizing efforts of our affiliate youth groups, KRCC’s Fighting Youth Shouting out for Humanity (FYSH) and KRC’s Alliance of Korean American Students in Action (AKASIA), and from the generous support of community members like you!

Please RSVP using the form below!

To view more photos from today’s event, please visit NAKASEC’s flickr.

Today, the US Supreme Court heard oral arguments on the anti-immigrant law SB 1070 and are expected to make a decision sometime in June on whether or not to uphold certain provisions, including the controversial ’show me your papers’ provision that requires local law enforcement to question the immigration status of those whom they have a ‘reasonable suspicion’ are undocumented. Hundreds of individuals, including leaders from civil rights, progressive, faith-based and labor groups, from across the country gathered in front of the US Supreme Court to rally against hate and call on the Supreme Court to stand up for justice and strike down these discriminatory provisions that would in essence promote racial profiling.

NAKASEC mobilized advocates and community members representing a variety of different Asian American/Pacific Islander (AAPI) organizations to show a strong presence on an issue that also heavily impacts AAPI’s and communities we work with and raise their voices as part of the day’s pivotal event. The final decision in June could have important ripple effects for the future of state immigrant bills. This effort was coordinated in part with the Fair Immigration Reform Movement (FIRM) and Reform Immigration FOR America (RI4A).

Morna Ha, executive director of NAKASEC made the following statement:

With one clear, unequivocal voice, civil rights, faith, and immigrant community members and leaders stood before the Supreme Court to seek justice and unity.  Arizona’s cruel law, SB 1070, violates all that we believe America should be – a country where our basic rights are protected and where we can live without fear.  For Latinos, African Americans, Asian Americans and others who look different, we should not have to fear being stopped based on the color of our skin, the shape of our eyes, or whether we speak with an accent.

The Supreme Court must strike down this unconstitutional law. It is an affront to our communities and it is an affront to what we value as an American people.

Our country needs real solutions. SB1070 and copy-cat laws like the ones in Alabama and Georgia do not fix a badly broken immigration system and only serve as distraction. We need to find humane ways that keep families together, allow immigrant students access to higher education, and lets people continue to contribute back to the country they call home.

We will be watching very closely what happens in the coming months for the Court’s ruling and will continue to sound the trumpet for humane immigration reform. Our communities only prepared to fight that much harder to realize the reforms that this country truly needs.

Resources:

• Explanation of the implications of the upcoming Supreme Court Case (original source by the National Immigration Law Center) – Download (Korean and English)

Download a PDF of this release. 
Click here to view in Korean (우리말)

Contact: Morna Ha, mha@nakasec.org, 202-299-9540

On April 25, 2012, the United States Supreme Court will hear arguments on the constitutionality of Arizona’s cruel law, SB1070. The court is expected to announce its ruling in mid to late June. The National Korean American Service & Education Consortium (NAKASEC) will join a broad coalition of workers, civil rights organizations, immigrant rights groups, progressive allies and faith leaders who are coming together on this day in Washington, D.C. to demonstrate the importance of striking down this law.

The ruling on SB1070 will shape the kind of nation in which we live. At its core, SB1070 and its copycat laws are part of a broader attack on people of color, immigrant rights, worker rights, and voting rights underway across the country. If it is upheld, numerous states may move forward on their own versions of Arizona’s ‘papers please’ racial profiling law. Such a decision could fundamentally change the relationship between the federal government and states in how immigration enforcement is conducted. By striking down the law, the Court will set a major precedent – that state-sponsored racial profiling will not be tolerated.

More information on the Supreme Court hearing (Korean & English) can be found here: http://bit.ly/HWtV5k

WHAT: Rally to uphold Justice during the Supreme Court Hearing on SB 1070

WHEN: Wednesday, April 25, 2012 — 11:00 AM

**NAKASEC, Asian American advocates ^ community members will meet in front of Barnes & Noble at Union Station at 10:15 am and walk over to the Supreme Court together.**

WHERE: United States Supreme Court (1 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20545)

WHO: Workers, civil rights organizations, immigrant rights groups, progressive

allies and faith leaders. NAKASEC & other Asian American advocates.

Organizations and individuals interested in joining the rally should contact Joyce Yin, jyin@nakasec.org, 415-680-4447. More information can be found at www.nakasec.org.

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The National Korean American Service & Education Consortium (NAKASEC) was founded in 1994 by local community centers to project a national progressive voice and promote the full participation of Korean Americans as a part of a greater goal of building a national movement for social change. NAKASEC is based D.C. and Los Angeles. NAKASEC also has affiliates in Chicago (Korean American Resource & Cultural Center) and Los Angeles (Korean Resource Center).

Download a PDF of this release. 
Click here to view in Korean (우리말)

Immediate Release
April 13, 2012

Contacts:

On the eve of the 20^th Anniversary of the Los Angeles Civil Unrest, the National Korean American Service & Education Consortium (NAKASEC) and its affiliates the Korean American Resource & Cultural Center (KRCC) in Chicago and the Korean Resource Center (KRC) in Los Angeles are launching a call to action to Korean Americans. Throughout April and May, community members are asked to participate in events that strengthen communities, encourage political participation and support immigration reform. [See attached document for events coordinated by KRC, KRCC and NAKASEC]

Sa-I-Gu and the wave of attacks on all immigrant and communities of color throughout the 1990s was a call for Korean Americans to become empowered stakeholders and agents of change. The community was confronting devastating impacts of the 1996 welfare reform laws and the passage of the vehemently anti-immigrant Prop 187 in California. The Korean American community was seeking a way to address race and establish a political identity that aligned with people of color, navigated the civic process and built community power.

“Korean Americans learned from Sa-I-Gu that we need to organize and build bridges with other vulnerable communities to advance a shared agenda of economic and social justice. And that’s exactly what we did,” said Dae Joong Yoon, executive director of KRC. “We established organizations like NAKASEC that launched campaigns to build a critical mass of politically informed citizenry that organized from the bottom-up on issues impacting diverse communities nationally.”

Through these campaigns, Korean Americans, young and old, have led the way alongside allied communities to winning many hard-fought battles:  the restoration SSI and food stamp benefits in the 1990s; health care for immigrant children in 2009; and the growth of the movement of undocumented students to access higher education.  NAKASEC and its affiliates, in deep connection to the Korean American community, have become a strong voice in the progressive movement in the United States.

A core component of this work was been the development of a seamless path to voter empowerment from naturalization to voter mobilization for limited English proficient and new voters.

“In 1996 Korean Americans in Chicago through KRCC launched a multi-faceted voter program – the first of its kind for Korean Americans,” said Sik Son executive director of KRCC. “Today our programs have become even more strategic and targeted. As a result of our organizing project, KA VOICE, Korean American voters had the highest rates of turn-out of all Early Voter sites for the March Primary elections. We will take this experience with us as we head into another critical election in November.”

During April and May, community members are being called to participate in voter registration drives, naturalization ceremonies, supporting access to education for all and actions for immigrant and civil rights.

Morna Ha, executive director of NAKASEC, said “During this highly political year, we face a familiar set of challenges as we did in the 1990s. The rights of immigrants, voters and workers are being stripped away, families are struggling to make ends meet and immigrant young people are denied an education. The events taking place from Los Angeles, Chicago to Washington D.C., are an opportunity for Korean Americans to protect what we have won over the last 20 years and continue moving forward with a progressive agenda that is just being realized.”

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The National Korean American Service & Education Consortium (NAKASEC) was founded in 1994 by local community centers to project a national progressive voice and promote the full participation of Korean Americans as a part of a greater goal of building a national movement for social change. NAKASEC is based D.C. and Los Angeles. NAKASEC also has affiliates in Chicago (Korean American Resource & Cultural Center) and Los Angeles (Korean Resource Center).

National

Los Angeles

Chicago

Washington D.C.

On April 25th, the US Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in a landmark case challenging Arizona’s anti-immigrant law, SB 1070. Join us and other immigrant rights, labor and civil rights leaders and organizations who stand united in protecting immigrant families and standing against state-sponsored racial profiling.

What you can do:

• Sign up and join NAKASEC on April 25th for a rally in front of the US Supreme Court (rally starts at 11 am — a delegation of Asian Americans will gather in front of the Barnes & Noble at Union Station by 10:15 am and walk over to the Supreme Court together)
• Light a candle and join the vigil for justice and the American Dream

Resources:

• Explanation of the implications of the upcoming Supreme Court Case (original source by the National Immigration Law Center) – Download (Korean and English)

Contact Joyce Yin at 202-299-9540 (jyin@nakasec.org) for more information!

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