May 4, 2011

Contacts:

Karn Saetang, KRCC, karn@chicagokrcc.org (773-293-4050)

Angela Kim, KRC, angela@krcla.org (323-937-3718)

Olivia Park, NAKASEC, opark@nakasec.org (202-299-9540)

NAKASEC Scholarship Program Aims to Provide Bright Students with a Chance to Dream

^4th Annual DREAM Scholarship Fund Launches Nationwide

Download the application: DREAM Scholarship Fund

The application deadline is June 17, 2011.

Download the DREAM Scholarship Fund flyer in English and also in Korean.

Today, the National Korean American Service & Education Consortium (NAKASEC) and our affiliates the Korean American Resource & Cultural Center (KRCC) and the Korean Resource Center (KRC) are excited to announce the launch of our DREAM Scholarship Fund. Founded in 2007 by Korean American youth who for the past decade have campaigned for the passage of the DREAM Act, the Dream Scholarship Fund will award several $1,000 scholarships to students in California, Illinois and nationwide who face undue financial hardships. The scholarships are created largely through grassroots fundraising within our communities and by our student organizing groups, Fighting Youth Shouting Out for Humanity (FYSH) in Chicago and Alliance of Korean American Students in Action (AKASIA) in Los Angeles.

“For those who do not have enough financial means to pursue higher education and their life goals, the DREAM Scholarship Fund is like a candle keeping a steady light of hope for many students like myself. I have been able to follow my passion for the arts, photography and interior design,” said Han Joon Kim, one of the recipients of the 2010 DREAM Scholarship Fund, who is currently attending the University of Wisconsin – Madison.

“While many of the students in AKASIA and FYSH have financial needs ourselves, we are honored and empowered to know that our fundraising goes toward helping fellow students to follow their dreams. The DREAM scholarship is a way for us to build up our community as we continue to organize, educate and campaign for social justice and change,” said Angela Kim, student leader of AKASIA in Los Angeles.

Download the application: DREAM Scholarship Fund

The application deadline is June 17, 2011.

To donate to the DREAM Scholarship Fund: http://krcla.org/dsf

• There is likely to be less than 1 week to make sure DREAM Act passes this year. Tuesday is a key vote to allow the Senate to consider DREAM as an amendment to the annual military spending bill. With 60 votes, DREAM can then be considered as an amendment.

What’s going on?

• Immigration reform or DREAM Act should not be a partisan issue as it impacts people in all states. We hope that all Senators will step up, Democrats and Republicans alike. Leaders from the Congressional Hispanic Caucus recently announced a three-prong legislative strategy for immigration reform in the fall, which is to 1) push for passage of the DREAM Act, 2) introduce a new comprehensive immigration bill in the Senate and 3) press the White House to provide administrative relief.
• There is a sense of urgency. If DREAM Act is successfully voted on as an amendment to the annual military spending bill, the Senate must vote again to pass the bill before DREAM Act can become law.

Stand With Immigrant Children and Young People to Gain Access to Higher Education for All. Recently there has been a surge of activism across the country for the DREAM Act. There are 1.7 million undocumented immigrants under the age of 18 nationally. Every year, 65,000, undocumented students graduate from high school unable to realize their potential and fully participate in American society.  Ethnicities of undocumented students are quite diverse. Many came to the US as children from various parts of the world. In fact, about 15% of Korean Americans are undocumented. In California, we have AB540 that helps students access in state tuition regardless of status.  About 25% (one quarter) of all AB540 students are Korean American – more than any other Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) group.

At different moments in history, we have seen, especially in economic downturns, politicians demonize people such as immigrants as scapegoats. We have to recognize that this is a win-win for America. We hope that fairness and reason will prevail over emotional and political opportunism.

Make Your Voice Heard. Your participation is one step toward building a just and humane America.

Nationwide Targets: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R- KY). In Illinois, we are also targeting Rep. Mark Kirk (R – 10^th District).

What To Do:

1. If your Senator is not listed above, call Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) toll-free at 866-877-5944.
2. If your Senator is listed above, or to share your support for DREAM Act with those Senators, call 866-996-5161 to reach the Capitol Switchboard.
3. To reach Rep. Kirk’s DC Office, call 202-225-4835.

Sample Script:

I’m calling from (your city and state), to make sure that Senate Minority Leader McConnell / (Your Senator) knows that we need his support for the DREAM Act to pass this year.

[Listen to response] Will the Senator vote to pass the DREAM Act this year?

Let us know you called. Leave a comment on our page, tweet or “Like” our Facebook statuses about DREAM!

Like the pictures below? Take one and pass it along! We encourage people to use it as your profile picture on Facebook and other social networking sites you may have!

Suggested photo caption (copy & paste):

DREAM Act faces an important vote on Sept. 21. Call Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) toll-free at 866-877-5944 and tell him to support to DREAM Act. Visit ow.ly/2Giq4 to find out who else you can call.

[Click on picture for original size]

• Download: ACLU Arizona Travel Alert [KOREAN]
• Click here to see corresponding press release.

For Immediate Release
July 23, 2010

Contact:
Jane Yoo, NAKASEC, 718-710-2277
Dae Joong Yoon, KRC, 323-937-3718

NAKASEC Partners with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Affiliates in California

to Release Korean Language Arizona Travel Alert

Los Angeles, CA – Due to potential civil liberties threats posed by the passage of Arizona’s racial profiling law SB 1070, the ACLU of Southern California, ACLU of Northern California and ACLU of San Diego and Imperial Counties issued a travel alert informing California residents of their rights when stopped by law enforcement when traveling in Arizona. In collaboration with these affiliates, NAKASEC is releasing a Korean language translation of the alert to inform Korean American residents of California of their rights should they travel to the state of Arizona.

In addition, other informative materials are available in English and Spanish by the ACLU. They include a “Know Your Rights” card outlining instructions, applicable in any state, on coping with vehicle stops and questioning by police, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents or the FBI, as well as a Frequently Asked Questions document specific to SB 1070.

The need to alert our communities comes at a critical time. While SB 1070 does not go into effect until July 29, ACLU affiliates in California are concerned that some law enforcement officers may already be acting on provisions of the law.
SB 1070 requires law enforcement agents to demand “papers” from people they stop and suspect are not authorized to be in the U.S. If individuals are unable to prove they are permitted to be in the U.S., they may be subject to warrantless arrest without any probable cause that they have committed a crime.

The ACLU and other leading civil rights organizations filed a lawsuit challenging the Arizona law in May, but until the law is struck down, the ACLU warns that individuals traveling in Arizona must be aware of their rights if stopped for questioning. NAKASEC supported an amicus brief for this lawsuit.

On July 29, NAKASEC and KRC will be going to Arizona with other advocates to protest the implementation of the racist SB 1070 law.

###

National Korean American Service & Education Consortium (NAKASEC) is a national organization founded in 1994 by local Korean American community organizations to project a national progressive voice and promote the full civic participation of Korean Americans as part of a greater goal of building a national movement for social change.

Korean Resource Center (KRC) empowers the Korean American, low-income immigrant and people of color communities through social services, education, culture, advocacy, and grassroots organizing. KRC is a founding affiliate of NAKASEC.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) was founded to defend and secure the rights granted by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights and to extend them to people who have been excluded from their protection. Such rights include individual liberty and the right to privacy, to equal protection of the laws and to due process of law.

"We Are Our Own Heroes!" read the placards created and displayed by the young KRC members.

The reason for the protest was obvious enough for an 11-year-old Korean American girl from KRC who first pointed out to us that this film was racist. Unlike the original Saturday morning cartoon series “Avatar: The Last Airbender,” whose cast is made up entirely of Asian and Inuit people, the Hollywood version features white main characters and “Slumdog Millionaire’s” Dev Patel who is playing the villain. Dev Patel joined the cast only after Jesse McCartney dropped out from playing the role.

Young Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders do not need to grow up discouraged and feel like they need to seek other avenues to feel proud and confident of their identity and race. This is our America that we helped build and an America we are continuing to make vibrant and dynamic. America is changing and the youth of today will not support continued whitewashing of their history, culture and community.

For more coverage, read the LA Times story and watch the ABC 7 story.

Ms. Pasquarella shared about the serious harm done to our communities by immigration enforcement, while Mr. Kaye challenged the audience to think not just locally, but globally about migration.  Reverend Lee spoke about alliance building and the potential of immigrants and African Americans to forge a progressive agenda together.

EunSook Lee briefed the audience on policy opportunities for immigration reform and also about the importance of telling our stories, which can be powerful forces to influence and change minds of those who may be at first opposed to or uncertain about immigration reform.

EunSook Lee states, “Immigration reform is not just a policy; it’s about communities and integration.  Dialogues like the one we shared tonight among diverse communities including Muslim Americans, Latinos, Asian Americans, African Americans and Jewish communities are a critical part of inclusive, humane and meaningful immigration reform.”

Read Korean language media coverage of the event at the Christianity Daily.

NAKASEC Executive Director EunSook Lee pictured with author/journalist Jeffrey Kaye.

12 arrested in mall immigration protest from L.A. County

BY CINDY CARCAMO and IAN HAMILTON

2010-06-15 09:15:48

COSTA MESA – The 12 immigration rights protesters arrested after they snarled traffic by blocking a major thoroughfare for about an hour Monday near South Coast Plaza were all from Los Angeles County, Costa Mesa police said Tuesday.

They joined about 200 demonstrators who descended on the shopping landmark about 3 p.m. to protest the Costa Mesa City Council’s recent resolution to declare the city a “Rule of Law City” that does not welcome those who are in the country illegally. The protesters also denounced Arizona’s new immigration enforcement law.

The demonstration was a highly-orchestrated event by leaders of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles who had the names of those who’d planned to be arrested before it actually happened. Buses pulled into the area about 6 p.m. to take protesters  home.

Those arrested locked arms in tubes and strapped their feet together with duct tape as they sat at a table in the middle of traffic near the intersection of Anton Boulevard and Bristol Street.

Fellow protesters cheered and commuters honked in frustration as police arrested and led each person away from the table. Police eventually directed traffic away from the intersection.

The first to be taken away was a man identified as Carlos Roberto Coronel. He identified himself as a U.S. citizen and a Marine who served twice in Iraq.

“We’re standing up for our families,” Coronel said while at the table. “We’re standing up for our country. We’re fighting for our future, and we want immigration reform.”

Police said the following were arrested:

• Ana Cid, 18, of Los Angeles

• Angelica Salas, 39, of Pasadena

• Eun Sook Lee, 42, of Los Angeles

• Bianette Guadalupe Linares, 19, of Los Angeles

• Jonathan Daniel Klein, 41, of Los Angeles

• Carlos Roberto Coronel, 27, of Sun Valley

• Balmore Dominguez, 21, of Los Angeles

• Felipe Escobar, 22, of North Hollywood

• Lewis Logan, 46, of Los Angeles

• Jonathan Carmona, 21, Asuza

• Neil Rivas, 26, Santa Clarita

• Frank Alton, 58, Los Angeles

The 12 were arrested on suspicion of a variety of misdemeanors, including unlawful assembly, public nuisance and not obeying officers, Costa Mesa Sgt. Matt Grimmond said.

Police said they will recommend that charges be filed with the Orange County District Attorney’s office. Officers cited and released the group by 8 p.m. Monday and the 12 got into a bus that was waiting to take them home, Grimmond said.

Before hopping on the bus, however, the group staged an encore of their earlier protest.

“They started protesting, marching outside our police station,” Grimmond said.

At the first protest, some motorists stuck in traffic confronted the protesters while others complained from their vehicles.

“They have a right to protest, but no right to protest in traffic,” said Diane Beeson of Mission Viejo, who was stuck in traffic for 20 minutes and frustrated at police for not clearing traffic sooner.

It was the latest in a string of protests, shows of support, and backlash directed at the city, which has taken a strong stance against illegal immigration.

Some Latino lawmakers in Sacramento threatened to block the sale of the Orange County Fairgrounds to the city from the state after city officials passed the resolution. Click here to read the story.

The City Council’s resolution, recommended by long-time illegal immigration opponent Mayor Allan Mansoor, makes it clear that those in the country illegally are not welcome in Costa Mesa. Click here to read the story.

Klein, a Rabbi, said he had planned to be arrested Monday along with other clergy from a Presbyterian Church and African-American Methodist church.

“Our focus is how a broken immigration system breaks apart families,” said Klein, executive director for the Los Angeles chapter of Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice. “The goal is to get people to recognize how a broken system leads to exploitation of workers. We have a general religious theme, a moral frame that is we love the stranger.”

Protesters carried banners and posters, such as those reading “Legalization for All”, “and “No to Immigrant Scapegoating.”

It was also the most recent protest addressing the controversial Arizona law that makes it a crime to lack immigration papers and requires police to ask for documentation of legal status if there is “reasonable suspicion” that the person they stopped is in the country illegally.

A group of 40 locals returned early Monday from a Sunday rally in Phoenix, where they joined others critical of the law. Click here to read the story.

The weekend before, the Register followed a group of 15 local anti-illegal immigration activists who left Garden Grove for a rally in Phoenix. The “Phoenix Rising” event on Saturday drew hundreds to the state capitol in support of the law. Click here to read the story.

The law has also sparked an anti-Arizona protest in Santa Ana and a flurry of city officials to request that their city either denounce or support the law.

To read a comprehensive story on Orange County cities’ reactions to this issue, click here.

Monday night, a council member in Cypress unsuccessfully tried to get his city to take on a similar resolution.

Click here to read the story.

Contact the writer: 714-796-7924 or ccarcamo@ocregister.com

More photos at http://www.ocregister.com/news/city-253437-immigration-police.html.

Original story at http://www.ocregister.com/news/city-253437-immigration-police.html

Similarly, Arizona state government is planning to profile people for their immigration status. This type of racial profiling is unacceptable and the spirit of Gwangju demands us to stand up for the fight. We need to do something to bring justice for immigrants. Six to seven activists from Chicago’s Korean American Resource & Cultural Center are participating in the 50-person pilgrimage being organized by several community groups. They will walk from Chicago to the Immigration Detention Center in Woodstock IL to call for an end to deportations of law-abiding immigrants and the inhumane separation of families. They preceded their journey with a presentation at the Chicago Freedom School.  

Arizona: National Day of Action Against SB1070

In the wake of the passage of the egregious and deplorable SB 1070, our voice for justice is more important than ever.  SB 1070 is the most far-reaching anti-immigrant legislation the U.S. has seen in years.  It will allow police to stop and question people simply based on “a reasonable suspicion” that they are undocumented, detain individuals for not having proper identification, and criminalize individuals being present with a friend or family member who is undocumented. With the signing of SB1070 in April, along with HB2281, which proposes to embargo funding for schools that include certain types of ethnic studies in their curriculum, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer is fomenting a climate of hate and intolerance that will have a devastating impact on Arizona residents, particularly immigrants and communities of color.  Stand with Arizona’s immigrant community to say NO to these discriminatory laws that harm not only immigrants, but our nation as a whole.  A delegation from Los Angeles will be leaving by bus on the morning May 28; if you’re interested in joining, please contact Olivia Park at opark@nakasec.org or 323-937-3703.  What: March to the Arizona State Capitol When: Saturday, May 29 at 8:00 a.m. Starting Point: Indian Street Park (at E. Indian School Road and N. 3rd Street), Phoenix, AZ

US Olympian Simon Cho Reaches Out To Youth in Face of Anti-Immigrant State Proposals
Former Undocumented Immigrant Speaks Up for Immigration Reform

Los Angeles –Kicking off Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month on Thursday, May 6 and Friday, May 7, the youngest member of the US Olympic Speed Skating Team and 2010 bronze medalist Simon Cho spoke to about 1,140 people as part of a community tour sponsored by Korean Resource Center and National Korean American Service and Education Consortium (NAKASEC). Simon Cho reached out to Los Angeles students from elementary school- through college-age, as well as to seniors in the Korean American community, to share his struggles growing up in an immigrant family and how he achieved his dreams as a person of color. For most of his formative childhood years, Simon Cho was an undocumented immigrant in America. His accomplishments shine light on what America has to gain when immigrants are welcomed and given a path to citizenship.

After participating in his first Olympic Games, Simon Cho feels a responsibility to stand up as an athlete whose family suffered the consequences of our failing immigration system. He shared his memory of physically crossing the border from Vancouver to Seattle, and answered questions about his personal life, the sport he excels in, financial hardships he faced, and his hope for a better America.  Students asked a wide range of questions including,

“Did you ever fall?”

“How did it feel to win the bronze medal?”

“What was your favorite part of the Olympic games?”

“Did you ever break one of your trophies?”

“How old were you when you came to the United States?”, and

“Did you ever get mad at your parents for your undocumented immigrant status?”

Accompanied by staff and organizers of the Korean Resource Center and NAKASEC, Simon spoke with students at Wilton Place Elementary School, Community Magnet Charter School, the Miguel Contreras Learning Complex, and USC 32nd Street School. At UCLA, he spoke at a meet-and-greet organized by KRC’s student group Alliance of Korean American Students in Action (AKASIA), attended by about 70 students of Asian American studies and other networks including UCLA IDEAS who secured the venue. He also visited elderly Korean Americans at Pico Senior Daycare Center.

The week prior, Simon Cho made his debut as an immigration reform advocate in Washington, DC, at a press event sponsored by NAKASEC and affiliates at the offices of the National Immigration Forum. He then met with Senators Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Orrin Hatch (R-UT) to remind them of the importance of immigration reform to America. For more, see: http://nakasec.org/blog/1955.

NAKASEC, KRC and AKASIA thanks all schools, groups and individuals, including Simon Cho and his father Jay Cho, who made the community speaking tour an historic success.

###

NAKASEC is a national organization founded in 1994 by local Korean American community organizations to project a national progressive voice and promote the full civic participation of Korean Americans as part of a greater goal of building a national movement for social change. NAKASEC is a member of the Fair Immigration Reform Movement and the Reform Immigration FOR America coalition.

The Korean Resource Center (KRC, 민족학교) empowers the Korean American, low-income immigrant and people of color communities through social services, education, culture, advocacy, and grassroots organizing. KRC is a founding affiliate of NAKASEC.

AKASIA is a group of Korean American college student leaders that organizes undocumented Korean American students and allies to build a strong network of students with a passion for social justice. AKASIA seeks to unite, educate and engage Korean American students on issues that affect the Korean American community as well as immigrant communities at large. Current campaign efforts include comprehensive immigration reform and the DREAM Act.