The Detention Watch Network is proud to announce the next generation of its interactive map of the U.S. Immigration Detention System. www.detentionwatchne..

We hope this new and improved map will be a resource to you as you assist immigrants in detention as well as educate communities and advocate for reform.

The new map includes much more information, including more detention centers, community organizations and immigration courts, in-depth information about facilities and related added media such as photos, videos, articles, and resource links related to facilities.  The map is a more user-friendly tool, with more navigation options and a specific page for each detention center.

To see what a detailed detention center page can look like, check out the page for the family detention center in Texas: www.detentionwatchne...

The map is a work in progress and we will continue to add new data as it becomes available and improve the functionality of the map based on feedback.  We are counting on YOU, our members and allies, to help in this ongoing effort by sharing information from the field about new facilities and organizations, existing changes, and new resources and media.  On the map’s webpage, there are submission forms both for additional information or changes to the map as well as feedback on using the map.  We will also continue to reach out to universities and others interested in doing the in-depth research on specific facilities.  Please contact Angela at asmith-dieng@detenti.. if you want to join this effort. There is still much information to be added in order to make this the best resource it can be!

www.washingtonpost.c..

While NAKASEC and affiliates are heartened by Yong Harvill’s release from detention in Arizona to return home in Florida to receive adequate and quality medical attention, we call on the Department of Homeland Security to re-assess its conduct as many more lives hang in the balance. Ms. Harvill’s case has prompted the Korean American community to be even more vigilant in advocating for the protection of due process rights and calling on DHS to execute immediate steps to provide improved medical care – including mental health services – for detainees. To that end, we urge Congressional leaders to co-sponsor the Detainee Basic Medical Care Act (H.R. 5950 & S. 3005) introduced by Rep. Zoe Lofgren and Sens. Menendez, Kennedy, Durbin, Akaka and Lieberman. For more information about this legislation, visit: nakasec.org/blog/115..

Contacts:
Yong Ho Kim, KRC, 323.937.3718 (Korean, Spanish)
Sookyung Oh, NAKASEC, 267.334.5918 (English)

A Gift to “Aspiring Americans”
Korean Americans to promote immigrant integration
in celebration of Independence Day

(Los Angeles, CA) On July 11th and 12th, the National Korean American Service & Education Consortium (NAKASEC) and the Korean Resource Center (KRC) will be celebrating Independence Day with two immigrant integration events – a voter registration drive held at a naturalization ceremony and a citizenship application clinic.

“Independence Day presents more than an opportunity to celebrate America’s birthday with fireworks. Drawing from our country’s rich history of advancing full participation and representation, we are proud to mobilize Korean Americans to join other immigrant communities to promote two worthy national efforts: Building America Together and the We Are America Alliance. Efforts that seek to integrate, rather than isolate, such as voter registration drives and citizenship clinics, are a potent antidote to heightened anti-immigrant sentiment,” stated EunSook Lee, Executive Director at NAKASEC.

“On July 11th, we will be there at the Los Angeles Convention Center where the naturalization ceremony will take place to celebrate with the thousands of immigrants who have waited very patiently to become citizens and to encourage them to take advantage of all the rights of U.S. citizens, including the full ability to have your voice heard through voting. It is imperative that citizen members of our community vote to hold our elected officials accountable, ensuring that reasonable and workable policies are introduced. The next day, a citizenship clinic will be held so that more members of our community who are eligible to become citizens receive the help they need. Citizenship and the right to vote are two interwoven elements of being an American, and we are excited for the opportunity to be working with the Korean American community to celebrate Independence Day and the values that make this nation unique,” stated Dae Joong Yoon, Executive Director at KRC.

Planned Events
What: VOTER REGISTRATION DRIVE AFTER NATURALIZATION CEREMONY
Date: Friday, July 11, 2008
Time: 9:00am - 4:00pm
Location: Los Angeles Convention Center, 1201 South Figueroa Center, Los Angeles, CA
Partners: Mobilize Immigrant Vote (MIV)

What: NATURALIZATION CLINIC
Date: Saturday, July 12, 2008
Time: 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Location: 1102 Crenshaw Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA
Partners: Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles (LAFLA)
###

As of recent, there has been two raids on two NGOs (non-governmental organization) office - the he People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy and the Korean Alliance of Progressive Movements. Three human rights defenders (HRDs)have been arrested, while many have gone underground hiding. About 50 police officials from the Metropolitan Police raided the office of PSPD situated in Tongin-dong at 6 am yesterday. Three computers, pickets, sandbags, flags, two fire extinguishers, and other protest equipments have been confiscated, while 22 computers from the KAPM’s office was confiscated. Mr. Hwang Soonwon, Mr. Ahn Jingeoul, and Ms. Yoon Hee-suk, the staff presented at the offices were also arrested. These arrests have prompted other HRDs to go into hiding.

NAKASEC condemns these human rights violations perpetrated by the South Korean government to intimidate and suppress individuals and NGOs who have been active in opposing the controversial U.S.-South Korea beef deal.  Click here to read entire text of sign-on letter: Asian NGO letter

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Excerpted from a letter circulating from Asian NGOs:

“We feel that this direct threatening action to the work of the HRDs is a regressive move by the South Korean authorities. South Korea government needs to abide by the UN International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) which it ratifies. The ICCPR highlights that government has an obligation to protect the rights to freedom of expression, association, and assembly, these rights constitute as three basic rights.

In the South Korea’s pledge to the UN Human Rights Council (HRC), it mentions that “the promotion and protection of human rights is a priority in [South Korea] national as well as foreign policy goals”. South Korea must make sure that what is pledged and promised at the UN forum will be fully implemented in the ground. If not this will be an enormous contradictory to South Korea’s placement at the UN HRC which should be upholding human rights at its fullest, not violating basic rights of its citizens themselves.”

Contact: HyunJoo Lee, 323.937.3703, ext. 202

Helping Our Communities Vote
NEW Civic Engagement & Voter Empowerment Resource Available

(Los Angeles, CA) On June 20, 2008, the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) released the “2008 Glossary of Election Terms,” which contains thousands of terms and phrases used in the administration of elections. The EAC invited the National Korean American Service & Education Consortium (NAKASEC), the Korean American Resource & Cultural Center (KRCC), and the Korean Resource Center to translate the entire guide into Korean.

“NAKASEC was happy to be a part of this national effort that will promote Korean American and Asian American & Pacific Islander (AAPI) civic engagement & voter empowerment. Translated educational materials are critical in ensuring that our community members can fully participate,” stated HyunJoo Lee, National Organizing Coordinator, NAKASEC.

To obtain a copy:
1) Go to: www.eac.gov/voter/la..
(Other languages that are available include: Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, Tagalog, &Vietnamese)

2) Call toll free to Edgardo Cortes or Laiza Otero at 1-866-747-1571 for a physical copy.

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Note: According to the 2000 U.S. Census, 1.6 million citizens over age 18 speak an Asian or Pacific Island language at home and English less than “very well.” Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act requires jurisdictions with large minority language populations (including Hispanic and Native Alaskan and American Indian) to provide translated voting materials, such as registration notices and ballots.

For immediate release
June 23, 2008

Contact:
EunSook Lee, 323.937.3703, ext. 205
Sookyung Oh, 267.334.5918 (cell)

Thawing the ICE
NAKASEC to testify on raids impact on Korean Americans and AAPI communities

(Los Angeles, CA) The National Commission on ICE Misconduct and Violations of the 4th Amendment will hold a regional hearing in Los Angeles on June 24th to examine the impact of ICE raids on workers, families, communities and local economies. EunSook Lee, Executive Director of NAKASEC, will be one of the speakers to testify, specifically on impacts to Korean American and Asian American & Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities.

Responding to the stepped-up immigration enforcement activities in the recent months, a ten-member civilian commission was created with the mission of exposing injustice during ICE raids, educating the public, and making clear recommendations as to how the government should treat all the people of this nation. After thorough investigation, it will produce a public report that highlights its findings and makes recommendations to ensure Constitutional protection for everyone.

On February 25, the first hearing was convened in Washington, DC. Subsequent hearings have been held in Boston, Des Moines, and Atlanta.

^{What:
EunSook Lee, Executive Director of NAKASEC, will testify in front of the National Commission on ICE Misconduct and Violations of 4th Amendment Rights. Among other speakers, Cardinal Roger Mahony will make a special appearance.}

^{When:
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
10:30 a.m. – 1 p.m.}

^{Where:
Conference Center at Cathedral Plaza
555 West Temple Street
Los Angeles, CA, 90012}

^{******************}

^{NAKASEC or the National Korean American Service & Education Consortium is a national consortium of non-profit organizations based in Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York. The centers sought to empower and improve the lives of Korean Americans as part of a greater goal of building a national movement for social change. NAKASEC is a multi-issue civil and human rights organization that is based within the Korean American community. We promote equitable changes to the political and legislative systems through a combination of education and policy advocacy with grassroots organizing and community mobilization.}

Join hundreds of community members to say:

HASTA LA BUDGET BABY!

Friday, June 27, 2008
Noon - 1:30 p.m.
300 S. Spring Street, Los Angeles, CA

For more information, please contact: Caroline Lee, 323-937-3718 or visit www.krcla.org.

NEW AMERICANS DEMOCRACY DAY

Saturday, June 28, 2008
10:30 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Foreman High School
3235 North LeClaire Avenue
Chicago, IL 60641

Featuring Sen. Dick Durbin, Representatives Luis Gutierrez and Jan Schakowsky, as well as one of Chicago’s most celebrated cultural troupes - Il Kwa Nori!

For more information, contact Youngsun Song at 773-506-9158 or youngsun@chicagokrcc.org

Korean-Americans still getting settled
Immigrant group in country for about 40 years but ’still in the settlement stage’

By Antonio Olivo | Chicago Tribune reporter
11:22 PM CDT, June 25, 2008

It’s been 33 years and Imja Han is still working at the same audio equipment factory in Wheeling, struggling on $15.65 an hour to make her mortgage payments.

To assemble the tiny parts, “I have to use microscope all day, every day,” Han, 64, said in halting English. “I’m getting old now, so I have dry eyes. It’s very hard.”

The Skokie immigrant’s story is part of a new survey of Korean-Americans to be released Thursday that shows many in the Chicago area are barely getting by.

Among the region’s about 35,000 Korean-Americans, the average income is roughly $37,000 per year, the report showed, citing 2006 U.S. Census Bureau figures. Of the nearly 200 people surveyed, 7.4 percent were unemployed.

The assessment, which also includes details about Korean employers, is part of a new plan to better organize the region’s sixth-largest immigrant community, said Young Sun Song, a coordinator with the Korean American Resource and Cultural Center, which helped conduct the survey.

In the region for more than 40 years, Koreans “are still in the settlement stage,” Songsaid. “People think it’s time to figure out how we can be more actively engaged in this society.”

Doing that remains a challenge, given some obstacles presented in the survey.

Although nearly 70 percent of all Koreans are college graduates, nearly half of workers surveyed confessed that they are more comfortable communicating in Korean than in English. About a third of the employers interviewed said they rely more on Korean.

Nearly half of the workers surveyed had no health insurance and roughly 75 percent didn’t know federal minimum wage laws require they earn at least $5.85 per hour.

About 60 percent of Korean employers surveyed didn’t know the minimum wage. Three-quarters didn’t know federal labor protections extend to non-U.S. citizens.

The latter category has fed into tensions between Korean employers and workers from other ethnic groups, said Song. In recent years, lawsuits filed by Latino employees have cost Korean employers roughly $1 million in total fines, she said.

That and other potentially uncomfortable subjects will likely be addressed during a conference about the survey results planned Thursday at Foster Bank in North Park.

While the still growing community has plenty to boast about, “psychologically, we’re going through a lot of depression,” Song said.

aolivo@tribune.com

Judge’s Ruling on Special Order 40 Affirms Balance Between Crime Fighting and Immigration Enforcement

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

LOS ANGELES, Calif. – The balance between the right of immigrants to equal protection and
the duty of Los Angeles police officers to keep communities safe was upheld today when Superior Court Judge Rolf M. Treu granted summary judgment and dismissed a lawsuit aimed at getting rid of the LAPD’s Special Order 40, which prohibits officers from using immigration status to initiate investigations.

Two years ago, a local taxpayer, Harold Sturgeon, filed suit to stop the city from spending public money to enforce the policy, arguing that it was an illegal use of public funds.

The judge instead agreed with attorneys for the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California (ACLU/SC), who argued that Sturgeon had not proved Special Order 40 is illegal because he could not show that it violates federal law.

“Today, Judge Treu ruled in favor of balance and responsibility,” said Hector Villagra, an ACLU/SC attorney who defended Special Order 40 on behalf of community, immigrant and anti-domestic abuse groups. “Immigrants in Los Angeles now are saved from having to choose between their personal safety and their future.”

In 2006, the Major Cities’ Chiefs Association, a grouping of the chiefs of the 64 largest police departments in the nation, expressed its firm support for policies such as Special Order 40 because they help strengthen the relationship between police and vulnerable communities. Since 1979, when the rule was adopted in Los Angeles, major cities across the country have followed suit with their own similar ordinances.

“Keeping Special Order 40 intact allows beat cops in communities affected by crime to build cooperative relationships with residents,” said Belinda Escobosa Helzer of the ACLU/SC, who also litigated the policy’s defense. “Community members can report crimes without fear that a tip will lead to deportation. That’s crucial in a city where more than 40 percent of the population is foreign-born.”

The policy helps ensure justice for the most vulnerable members of society.

“Without the protection of Special Order 40, the ability to assist victims of domestic violence would be significantly hampered,” said Jessica Aronoff, Executive Director for Break the Cycle, one of the groups represented by the ACLU/SC. “Many domestic violence victims are hesitant to take legal action and do not seek help of any kind because they fear involving law enforcement. This fear is particularly acute for those who are undocumented.”

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Click here to listen to audio excerpts of his remarks on the Senate floor:

PART 1:
demradio.senate.gov/..

Part 2:
demradio.senate.gov/..

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M. President,

Our deepest obligation as United States Senators and as representatives of the American people is to make sure our nation’s founding promises are being kept.

With a few strokes of Thomas Jefferson’s pen, we were told that life and liberty would be unalienable rights, that a chance to seek happiness would be something to which we were all entitled.

Our rights grew over time—and over time we grew out of restrictions on who was entitled to those rights. African Americans threw down the chains of slavery. Women marched to the polls. People came from all over the world to become full members of our society, because of the promise that our country held and the guarantees that our government made.

But when agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement –also known as ICE –conducted raids in Texas not long ago, one 19-year-old U.S. citizen who was dragged from her home while she was still in her pajamas wasn’t thinking about that history.

An 18-year-old U.S. citizen who was shackled at his ankles, handcuffed at his wrists and tied at his waist wasn’t thinking about that history.

They were thinking to themselves, “My God, what’s happening to me? What’s going to happen to my family?”

When ICE agents banged on the door of a U.S. citizen named Arturo Flores, and pushed their way into his house in Clifton, New Jersey without showing a warrant;
and when agents in North Bergen, New Jersey stormed into the house of a legal immigrant named Maria Argueta, in the middle of the night, and held her without cause, taking her away from her family for 36 hours—those loud knocks on the door quickly woke these law-abiding individuals up from their American dreams.

Hearing these examples, some people may say, “Well, this is what happens when people enter this country without going through the proper channels.”  I hear it all the time because it is the mantra of people who defend ICE’s raids.

But these aren’t undocumented immigrants getting pulled from their homes in the dead of night.  They are US citizens who are targeted because of their race, targeted because of their color.  Denied every fundamental right guaranteed by the United States Constitution.

Our fellow citizens may not have been surprised that they were yanked from their homes.  They might have known that their immigration status wasn’t even necessarily relevant.

They might have heard stories about friends who were U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents, but who were seized in immigration raids, detained, and in some cases, deported. I’m talking about U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents.

They may have known that their accent, their name, the color of their skin, the place where they lived would have put them at risk.  They may have known that—regardless of what our politicians and historians say—fundamental Constitutional rights still might not apply to them, in today’s America.

We’ve been hearing these stories for too long. It’s time they were told on the Senate floor, because together we need to face a blunt reality: our legitimate desire to get control over our borders has too often turned into a witch-hunt against Hispanic Americans and other people of color.

Common sense repeatedly loses out to hysteria, and agents of intolerance repeatedly jump over the legal protections to which every single American is entitled.

I’m going to tell just a few stories today, but there are plenty of others like them.

Last year, a 30-year-old mentally impaired man named Pedro Guzman, who was born and raised in Southern California, was arrested on misdemeanor charges and scheduled to be released—he’s a U.S. citizen, but somehow, his accent, his name and the color of his skin must have convinced immigration authorities otherwise. So instead of returning him to his home, they decided to deport him to Mexico.

Even after immigration authorities realized their horrible mistake, they made no significant effort to correct it. Pedro attempted several times to cross the border home to the United States, and was repeatedly turned away. He was forced to wander the streets of Tijuana, eating out of trash cans to survive—a U.S. citizen.

His mother Maria was worried beyond belief, and took off time from her job to search for Pedro. Finally, three full months after he’d been illegally deported, Pedro found his way home. When he came back, his mother said, after so much trauma, only half of her son had returned.

Each of us in this country has to think, What if that happened to me? Why couldn’t that happen to me? What would happen to my children if I were taken away?

The authorities harass U.S. citizens of Hispanic descent in other ways.

Last fall, under the cover of darkness, a dozen immigration agents stormed into the Long Island home of Peggy Delrosa-Delgado, a U.S. citizen and a mother of three.

They pushed through her 17-year-old son, herded her children into the living room, and one of them drew a gun on a family friend staying in the house. This was the second time they had done this, supposedly looking for someone named Miguel who had never lived there.

Another U.S. citizen named Gladis was at her home one day when eighteen vehicles drove into her front yard, and twenty agents jumped out.

Agents banged on the door and threatened to throw gas inside the house if they didn’t let them in. While the children in the house ran and hid in the bedroom, the agents broke down the door.

One of the agents grabbed Gladis and attempted to handcuff her.

Gladis said she could prove her citizenship, and gave them her social security card. After interrogating Gladis and her family for twenty more minutes, the agents left as fast as they came—
they had no warrant, no probable cause, no reason for their actions besides suspicion about someone’s name, their accent, and the color of their skin.

And there’s one more detail I should mention: Gladis was six months pregnant at the time.

Each of us in this country has to think, What if that happened to me? Why couldn’t that happen to me? What would happen to my children if I were taken away?

M. President, very shortly I’ll be introducing legislation to prevent the unlawful detention of U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents.

But the problem with our detention system is even larger. Beyond the U.S. citizens and permanent residents who are unlawfully detained, there are people who have come to the U.S. fleeing persecution, people who have committed no crime, but find themselves trapped and squeezed between the gears of the U.S. immigration system.

The Washington Post has recently run a disturbing series on the catastrophic state of our detention system. I encourage all of my colleagues to read it, and I ask Unanimous Consent to enter the articles into the record.

The whole series is staggering, revealing deficiencies in our detention system that most of us couldn’t dream up in our worst nightmares.  The Washington Post has forced us, as a nation, to look in the mirror, and I for one am appalled by what I see.

We, the United States of America, the greatest democracy in the entire world, have been injecting people with heavy doses of drugs in order to deport them or just to move them around the system with more ease.

Immigration officials drug people going through U.S. facilities, and they drug people who are about to be deported. They drug some people so heavily that when they get off the plane they collapse on the tarmac, or they have to be rolled off the plane in a wheelchair.

They don’t only drug people to make it easier to kick them out. One story that stood out in both the Washington Post and a segment on 60 Minutes was that of a woman named Amina Mudey. Last year, Amina fled from Somalia to the U.S. to seek asylum after she was tortured and her family was killed before her eyes.

When she arrived at JFK airport, she was shackled, thrown in a van and driven to a windowless converted warehouse in New Jersey. Immigration authorities didn’t so much as find an interpreter.

Instead, they decided to lock her up, decided she was insane without even talking to her, and decided to inject her full of a drug to treat a disease she didn’t have. The side effects were awful. Her tongue swelled so much she couldn’t close her mouth. She drooled and vomited uncontrollably, and began to lactate.

When she complained, they upped the dose. She thought to herself, “maybe I’m going to die in here.”

Finally, five months after she was detained, she won her asylum case in court and was released from the detention center.  Without the perseverance of her lawyer, Amina would never have emerged from her drug-induced state.  She would never have found the asylum she so desperately needed.

This case sheds light on another grim reality: medical treatment at our detention facilities is atrocious.  Over-medication is far from the only problem.  Life threatening lack of care is also a serious problem.  Take the heartbreaking story of Francisco Castaneda.  Francisco entered one of our detention facilities battling cancer – although he didn’t know it.
All he knew is that he had significant lesions on his reproductive organs.

Offsite officials who never examined Francisco repeatedly denied him the biopsy he so desperately needed. After 11 long months in custody, Francisco argued for and eventually obtained a temporary release so he could pay for his own biopsy.  Life-threatening cancerous tumors were found.

Despite amputation of the affected area and several rounds of chemotherapy, Francisco died of cancer at the age of 36.

A federal judge recently noted that this case appears to present, quote, “one of the most, if not the most, egregious Eighth Amendment violations [involving cruel and unusual punishment] the Court has ever encountered.”

The United States of America essentially killed Francisco Castaneda by denying him the medical care he so desperately needed.  Why?  Because he had entered this country without the proper documentation, at the age of 10, with his mother, fleeing civil war in El Salvador—a war the US had helped to fund, a war which sent thousands of refugees like him to our country.

He was denied care because he tried to make a better life for himself and his family.  These are hardly offenses that warrant death.  We cannot, in good conscience, allow these conditions to continue. That’s why I’ve joined together with my colleagues, Senators Kennedy, Durbin, Akaka and Lieberman, to introduce the Detainee Basic Medical Care Act.

First, the bill would require the Department of Homeland Security to establish procedures for delivering basic health care to all immigration detainees in custody.

It requires DHS to give people in custody access to any medications they urgently need, both during detention and during any transfers.

Currently, a bureaucrat in an office can overrule a medical professional who is actually on site and seeing a detainee. This bill ensures that treatment decisions are made by the professionals who actually see the patients.

And finally, the bill would require DHS to report all detainee deaths to the Office of Inspector General and Congress.

We can never lose sight of the fact that everyone who immigrates to this country, whether they are documented or not, is a human being. A detention should never amount to a death sentence. This kind of action to ensure humane treatment and prevent unnecessary deaths at these facilities is long overdue.

Let’s not forget that many in immigration detention are there for minor violations, many because of administrative errors, or pending legitimate asylum cases.

At some point, this becomes more than a legal issue – it becomes a human rights issue, and it is our job to do all we can to secure our country while protecting the dignity of all human beings.

If we fail to do so, not only do we blemish ourselves, but we lose the moral high ground to be a beacon of democracy and a leader in human rights around the world.

M. President,

It is astounding to me that human beings could be treated as badly as some are being treated on our soil.

When innocent people are drugged, tranquilized and treated like animals,

When agents attempt to handcuff a pregnant United States citizen, break down the door to her home, and terrify her children and her family;

When an agency of the federal government deports its own citizen;

When all of this is going on, each of us in America has to think, What if that were my family? What if that happened to us? Doesn’t my U.S. citizenship, whether by birth or naturalization, protect me from this kind of abuse?

Some officials have claimed that these incidents are rare. Some of suggested that this is acceptable collateral damage in pursuit of undocumented aliens. They should tell that to Pedro, Gladis, Amina and everyone else, and all the families who have had to watch this happen. No matter how widespread this pattern of abuse turns out to be, one thing is clear: it isn’t rare enough.

There’s only one way to prevent that kind of abuse: it should be a universal policy, that before we accuse someone of being undocumented, there’s one other document we should inspect first: it’s called the Constitution of the United States.

It’s time for immigration and law enforcement on all levels to rededicate themselves to respecting the rights the Constitution guarantees.

That means respecting the need for probable cause and the right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure guaranteed by the Fourth Amendment, the right to Due Process guaranteed by the Fifth Amendment, the full benefits of citizenship and Equal Protection for anyone born or naturalized in this country guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment—and the entire range of rights and protections our Constitution grants.

This is going to take real leadership, at every level of our justice system, from the Attorney General, to the Secretary of Homeland Security on down.

That’s the only way that those who by birth or naturalization have a legitimate right to pursue the American Dream, won’t have to watch as their lives turn into an un-American nightmare.

M. President,

This issue might not be the legislative business of this chamber right now, but it is always our moral business.

It’s always our moral business to defend the most fundamental principle on which our nation was founded: that all of us are created equal.

Stopping illegal detentions of Americans based on their race is about more than properly enforcing the law. Above all, it’s about respecting people who may be different from us, but who share the same birthright.

As Martin Luther King said, “We may have come on different ships, but we’re all in the same boat now.”

If we’re worried about what to throw off the boat, it should be our oldest enemy: fear.

Once that’s gone, we can resume our course on the currents of freedom, and let our sails be filled with liberty and justice for all.

Thank you M. President, I yield the floor.

(Rev. June 16, 2008)

Inhumane conditions in detention centers and even deaths (83 in the past five years) have prompted the introduction of the “Detainee Basic Medical Care Act” which if passes would:

• Requires the Department of Homeland Security to establish procedures for the timely and effective delivery of medical and mental health care to immigration detainees in DHS custody. Without such procedures, detainees will continue to suffer and due unnecessarily under DHS’ watch. The procedures will provide continuity of care for detainees with serious medical or mental health conditions, from the time or arrival at a detention facility until final discharge;
• Ensures that all treatment decisions be made by impartial medical or mental health professionals. This bill will require DHS to respond timely to all requests for medical or mental health care. Any denials of requests for care can be appealed to an impartial board comprised of medical experts; and
• Requires DHS to report all immigration detainee deaths to the Office of Inspector General and to Congress. DHS is not currently required to keep track of immigration detainee deaths or to publicly report the deaths. The absence of a mandatory reporting requirement leaves Congress and the public in the dark.

1) Call your Representative and Senator and urge her/him to co-sponsor H.R. 5950 and S. 3005, respectively. The Capitol Switchboard is (202) 224-3121. To find out who your Representative is, input your address at www.house.gov.

2) Participate in Night of 1,000 Conversations. Get your friends, family, and co-workers together to talk about how the Department of Homeland Security’s conduct as a federal agency fails to protect basic due process rights. Moreover, it brings to question whether our nation is in fact going in the right direction of upholding the most cherished of American principles of fairness, justice, and civil liberties. For more information, contact NAKASEC at 323.937.3703, ext. 206 or visit www.nightof1000conve...

Further information on the bill is available at www.thomas.gov/cgi-b.. and www.thomas.gov/cgi-b...

To see recent reporting on the issue, you can go to:
www.washingtonpost.c..
topics.nytimes.com/t..
www.cbsnews.com/stor..

Boumediene v. Bush Supreme Court Decision

To read the full text of the decision, visit:

http://www.supremecourtus.gov/opinions/07pdf/06-1181.pdf

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NAKASEC joins civil rights advocates in applauding a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on Thursday, June 12, 2008, that reinstated the principle of “habeas corpus”, a cornerstone of Western legal traditions, for detainees held at the Guantánamo Bay U.S. naval base in Cuba. This means that detainees have the right to hearing before an independent judiciary - in this case U.S. civil courts - learn the specific reason for their detention and challenge it.

This is the third time that the Supreme Court have repudiated the Bush Administration’s attempts to hold the detainees outside the protections of U.S. law. The court has ruled twice previously that people held at Guantanamo without charges can go into civilian courts to ask that the government justify their continued detention. Each time, the administration and Congress changed the law to try to deny due process.

Re-affirming due process for all is an important victory in protecting our nation’s commitment to the rule of law. Moreover, this decision comes at a critical time when immigrant rights and civil liberties organizations are working to ensure the same due protections, such as the right to have a fair day in court, are maintained for immigrant communities.

Joining Justice Anthony Kennedy’s opinion were Justices John Paul Stevens, Stephen Breyer, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and David Souter. Writing separately, Souter said the dissenters did not sufficiently appreciate “the length of the disputed imprisonments, some of the prisoners represented here today having been locked up for six years.” The dissenters were Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. and Justices Samuel Alito Jr., Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas.

Of the 5 to 4 decision, Justice Kennedy stated, “The laws and Constitution are designed to survive, and remain in force, in extraordinary times,” and that “Within the constitution’s separation-of-powers structure, few exercises of judicial power are as legitimate or as necessary as the responsibility to hear challenges to the authority of the Executive to imprison a person. … Liberty and security can be reconciled; and in our system they are reconciled within the framework of the law.”

Employers’ Guide, Rev May 2008

NAKASEC’s popular “Frequently Asked Questions” for workers and employers have been updated according to the revised rule published in March 2008. Guides are also available in pamphlets.

Please contact Becky Bae, bbae@nakasec.org if you want to have a hard copy of the pamphlet.

The Korean American Resource & Cultural Center (KRCC) seeks a talented and committed individual to serve as a full-time Youth Program Associate. KRCC is a dynamic organization working to empower the Korean American community through education, advocacy, organizing, social service and culture.

Major Responsibilities:
·         Assist the Youth Coordinator with planning, recruitment, implementation, development and evaluation of KRCC’s Youth Program.
·         Build the self-esteem and leadership skills of Korean and Asian American youth.
·         Foster the participation of Korean and Asian American youth in volunteer work
·         Assist the Youth Coordinator in creating, translating, publishing and distributing outreach and public education materials.
·         Develop and maintain relationships with local area schools.
·         Speak at small meetings, conferences and events with schools, parents, community members and students.
·         Facilitate youth participation and leadership in community organizing efforts.
·         Assist with fundraising activities related to the program including youth fundraisers and grant reports.
·         Coordinate relevant media and publicity efforts.
·         Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications:
Ability to work independently, think creatively and prioritize multiple tasks. Enjoy working with high school and college students. Excellent written and oral communication skills. Experience in youth and/or community organizing and research strongly preferred. Bilingual in the Korean and English languages an asset. Must be available to work some evenings and weekends.

KRCC offers a competitive salary commensurate with experience, full health benefits and paid vacation, sick days and holidays. To apply: Send cover letter, resume and writing sample to Becky Belcore, Executive Director, KRCC, 2701A W. Peterson Ave., Chicago IL 60659 or becky@chicagokrcc.or...

KRCC is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Korean American Resource & Cultural Center (KRCC)
Paid Fellowship in Community Organizing and Civic Engagement
Job Description
 
Korean American Resource & Cultural Center announces the New Americans Democracy Project (NADP), a five-month fellowship program for young people who are interested in working hard while exploring a career in social justice work, receiving quality training, and contributing to the participation of new citizens in the American democratic process.

Founded in 1995 by low income, recent immigrant youth in their late teens and early twenties, the Korean American Resource and Cultural Center strives to empower the Korean American community of greater Chicago through education, community organizing, advocacy, social service and culture.

As a part of a broader coalition managed by the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, the Program will run from July 1st to December 1st, 2008, and will pay an educational stipend of $325 per week. Participants will receive training in the skills of community organizing, non-partisan voter registration and ‘Get-Out-The-Vote” (GOTV) efforts from the staff, leaders, and allies of KRCC. These allies include community-based organizations with decades experience in community and direct-action organizing as well as national groups like Wellstone Action and the Center for Community Change, both national leaders in electoral organizing and training. Furthermore, KRCC will provide training on immigration issues and working with Korean American and broader immigrant communities.

The fellow will initially receive 7 days of paid training, supplemented with trainings throughout the length of the fellowship. KRCC staff will provide day-to-day support and supervision around activities such as developing volunteer recruitment strategy; carrying out intensive voter registration campaigns focusing on new citizens in immigrant communities. In the weeks leading up to the November 2008 elections, the fellow will work with volunteers to conduct GOTV activities. All work will be non-partisan (not supporting a particular candidate or party), and will be carried under non-profit 501c3 guidelines.

We are looking for an applicant who is willing to work hard, ready for a challenge, and are passionate for social justice and democratic participation. Previous experience is not required, although we anticipate that a successful candidate will have been active in his/her own community or issues that matter to them. Because the fellow will be working with community volunteers and conductive extensive outreach, this will not be a 9-5 job, but will require commitment and flexibility. It will be essential to have a full-time use of a car. We will pay mileage and specific job-related expenses.

Applicants who speak Korean are especially encouraged to apply.

Our goal is to have the fellow be hired into a full-time job as a result of a successful fellowship experience. Our current full-time community organizer is a graduate of this fellowship program. At the end of the fellowship, in case a full-time job at KRCC is not available, New Americans Democracy Project will assist the fellow, if interested in obtaining work in the field, in applying for jobs, including career counseling, resume review, networking, and providing references.

To find out more information about the New Americans Democracy Project at KRCC, or the fellowship, please contact Young Sun Song at 773) 506 – 9158 or send an email to youngsun@chicagokrcc... You can also look at the following website: www.icirr.org

To apply, please fill out the following application and submit it before July 11th. You may email it to youngsun@chicagokrcc... You can also fax the application to 773) 506-9159, but please call or email as well so that we may make sure we have received your fax.

We will interview likely candidates either in person or by phone, beginning July 1st and continue until spaces are filled.

Since 1996, the Korean Resource Center (KRC) has coordinated a multi-faceted program providing a seamless path to full civic participation from voter registration, education, and assistance to GOTV, voter research, and voting rights advocacy.

In the months leading up to the June 3^rd elections, KRC implemented a comprehensive civic participation program. In particular, KRC mobilized the Korean American community around two ballot measures: Proposition 98 which would terminate rent control, affordable housing development and tenant rights and Proposition 99 which was a counter ballot to Prop 98 and protects single family residential units from eminent domain. Korean American voters were urged to vote no on Prop 98 and yes on 99 through intensive phone banking and precinct walking efforts, as well as through media events like rallies and press conferences organized in coalition with other community-based, labor, civil rights and advocacy organizations in Los Angeles, all united to defeat Prop 98.

Voter Registration

Voter registration is the first step in becoming civically engaged. Beginning in February and up to the May 19^th voter registration deadline, KRC welcomed thousands of new voters through voter registration drives at naturalization ceremonies, and at its center. A total of 5,367 new voters were registered by KRC.

Voter Education

KRC works to educate Korean American voters on how to vote, where to vote, their rights as voters, important election dates and the issues important to our community, including key ballot measures. In preparation for the June 3^rd elections, KRC produced a bilingual voter guide which included the California Voter’s Bill of Rights, important Election Day information, Prop 98 and Prop 99. KRC also promoted Power Vote, a group of community members and leaders who meet monthly to become educated on the election and to instill a culture of sustained civic participation. The KRC Voter Guide was mailed to nearly 18,000 registered Korean American voters in Los Angeles and Orange County and nearly 3,000 were distributed at naturalization ceremonies, voter workshops and community events. KRC has held 9 workshops that informed 865 Korean American community members in Los Angeles and Orange Counties on how to vote, how the election process works, the difference between a primary and general election, services provided by the County Registrars like the multi-language voter assistance hotline number, and about Prop 98 and 99.

Get Out the Vote

KRC carried out a Get Out the Vote campaign which included mailing nearly 18,000 voter guides to registered Korean American voters, phone-banking close to 5,000 and visiting close to 2,000 at their homes to educate them on Prop 98 and to urge their civic participation on June 3^rd. The election results confirm what KRC and NAKASEC anticipated would be the response of the Korean American community:

· Of the 4,813 registered Korean American voters who were phone-banked in May, 92% said they were going to vote on June 3^rd and 89% said they would vote no on Prop 98, with 90% saying they would vote yes on Prop 99.

· Of the 1,897 homes visited, 90% of voters contacted stated that they would be voting on Election Day, 98% said they would vote no on Prop and 96% said they would vote yes on Prop 99.

KRC’s work in encouraging the civic participation of Korean Americans does not end on June 3^rd. Our efforts continue onward to November and beyond because we believe that civic participation must not be limited to elections. Civic participation is a reflection of our sense of identity and belonging in this country and its must become an integral part of our identity as Korean Americans. Join us as we work to activate our community members in the civic engagement process and ensure that our voices are heard. Contact KRC to volunteer and get involved in Power Vote!

Korean Resource Center

900 S. Crenshaw Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90019

323-937-3718

www.krcla.org

For Immediate Release
June 4, 2008

Contacts: Jung Hee Lee, KRC, 323-937-3718
HyunJoo Lee, NAKASEC, 323-937-3703

Community Unites to Educate and Empower Undocumented Students and Their Right to Public Higher Education

(Anaheim, Orange County) On Tuesday, June 3, 2008, 70 students, parents, educators and community leaders came together at Loara High School to learn about the college admissions process for undocumented students, and AB540, a state law that allows eligible students to pay in-state tuition at California colleges and universities. The community education forum – “Access to Equal Education” – was organized by a coalition of community-based organizations and advocacy groups dedicated to educating the diverse immigrant communities of Orange County about their access to higher education.

The immigrant communities of Orange County are rapidly evolving. From 2000 to 2006, the Latino population grew 13% while the Asian American and Pacific Islander population has grown 24.6%.

As the face of Orange County changes and the immigrant communities continue to grow, it is critical that community–based organizations work to educate and organize community members so that their needs are met and issues are addressed. AB540 was signed into law in October 2001 and allows eligible immigrant students to pay in-state tuition at public colleges and universities. Undocumented students are eligible for AB540 if they: have attended a California high school for at least three years; graduated from a California high school, received a high school equivalency or received a Certificate of Proficiency; and filed the AB540 nonresident tuition exemption request form. In Orange County however, students have faced difficulty in being recognized as AB540 students, with college admissions officials challenging their registration to the schools and their right to in-state tuition.

“We have hundreds of cases of eligible AB540 students being rejected admissions in Orange County. It is critical that we educate administrators about AB540 and advocate for proper implementation of the law so that students and families are not put through an unnecessary trial of hardship and stress,” said Joann Lee, Directing Attorney at the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles.

“As we continue to wait for Congress to enact laws that fix the immigration problem, we are seeing cities and states misinterpreting existing policies and laws. These actions feed into an anti-immigrant sentiment which expresses the opinion of only a minority of Californians,” said Eun Sook Lee, Executive Director of NAKASEC.

“Korean Americans are part of the undocumented population and many are living in Orange County. Since 2000, the Korean American population of Orange Country has grown more than 43%. At the Korean Resource Center, we work to educate our community members on AB540 and tell them that they and their children can go to college and create a better future for themselves,” said Dae Joong Yoon, Executive Director of KRC.

Groups that helped organize the community education forum include: ACLU of Southern California, Korean Resource Center (KRC), Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles (LAFLA), Los Amigos, National Korean American Service and Education Consortium (NAKASEC), OC Dream Team, OC Korean U.S. Citizens League and the United Healthcare Workers.

The “Access to Equal Education” community forum was the first of a series of AB540 forums that the coalition is planning to organize in Orange County. The next one is scheduled for the fall of 2008.

###

For Immediate Release
June 4, 2008

Contacts: Jung Hee Lee, KRC, 323-937-3718
HyunJoo Lee, NAKASEC, 323-937-3703

Community Unites to Educate and Empower Undocumented Students and Their Right to Public Higher Education

(Anaheim, Orange County) On Tuesday, June 3, 2008, 70 students, parents, educators and community leaders came together at Loara High School to learn about the college admissions process for undocumented students, and AB540, a state law that allows eligible students to pay in-state tuition at California colleges and universities. The community education forum – “Access to Equal Education” – was organized by a coalition of community-based organizations and advocacy groups dedicated to educating the diverse immigrant communities of Orange County about their access to higher education.

The immigrant communities of Orange County are rapidly evolving. From 2000 to 2006, the Latino population grew 13% while the Asian American and Pacific Islander population has grown 24.6%.

As the face of Orange County changes and the immigrant communities continue to grow, it is critical that community–based organizations work to educate and organize community members so that their needs are met and issues are addressed. AB540 was signed into law in October 2001 and allows eligible immigrant students to pay in-state tuition at public colleges and universities. Undocumented students are eligible for AB540 if they: have attended a California high school for at least three years; graduated from a California high school, received a high school equivalency or received a Certificate of Proficiency; and filed the AB540 nonresident tuition exemption request form. In Orange County however, students have faced difficulty in being recognized as AB540 students, with college admissions officials challenging their registration to the schools and their right to in-state tuition.

“We have hundreds of cases of eligible AB540 students being rejected admissions in Orange County. It is critical that we educate administrators about AB540 and advocate for proper implementation of the law so that students and families are not put through an unnecessary trial of hardship and stress,” said Joann Lee, Directing Attorney at the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles.

“As we continue to wait for Congress to enact laws that fix the immigration problem, we are seeing cities and states misinterpreting existing policies and laws. These actions feed into an anti-immigrant sentiment which expresses the opinion of only a minority of Californians,” said Eun Sook Lee, Executive Director of NAKASEC.

“Korean Americans are part of the undocumented population and many are living in Orange County. Since 2000, the Korean American population of Orange Country has grown more than 43%. At the Korean Resource Center, we work to educate our community members on AB540 and tell them that they and their children can go to college and create a better future for themselves,” said Dae Joong Yoon, Executive Director of KRC.

Groups that helped organize the community education forum include: ACLU of Southern California, Korean Resource Center (KRC), Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles (LAFLA), Los Amigos, National Korean American Service and Education Consortium (NAKASEC), OC Dream Team, OC Korean U.S. Citizens League and the United Healthcare Workers.

The “Access to Equal Education” community forum was the first of a series of AB540 forums that the coalition is planning to organize in Orange County. The next one is scheduled for the fall of 2008.

###

http://www.immigrantjustice.org/news/detention/stiporders 

Newly available federal data shows a steady increase in the number of immigrants in administrative detention who have signed deportation orders waiving their right to see a judge.  The National Immigrant Justice Center, through a Freedom of Information Act request, collected data showing that 94 percent of the 80,844 stipulated orders of removal signed between April 1997 and February 2008 were by immigrants who spoke primarily Spanish, and most had not been charged with a crime.       Typically, when an immigrant is in administrative detention, he or she has the right to locate a lawyer and go to court to seek relief to stay in the United States.  But when an immigrant signs a stipulated order of removal, he or she agrees to be deported immediately and waives the right to see a judge. Key DataThe National Immigrant Justice Center compiled the data received from the Executive Office for Immigration Review, the federal agency that adjudicates immigration cases.   Highlights include:  1.                   The use of stipulated orders has increased steadily since 2004. In 2004, 5,000 orders were signed.  That number increased to 15,000 in 2005 and 25,000 in 2006.  Last year, 30,000 stipulated orders of removal were signed.  2.         More than half of the stipulated orders were signed in four cities.Twenty percent were signed at the Eloy Detention Center located 70 miles southeast of Phoenix, Arizona; 16 percent were signed by judges in Chicago; nine percent were signed by judges at the immigration court in Lancaster, California (near Los Angeles); and six percent were signed by judges in Seattle.3.         The majority of deportees have no criminal background.  Eighty-five percent of detainees who signed stipulated orders of removal had no criminal charges. Nearly 68,478 were detained on a single civil charge because they entered the United States without proper inspection or overstayed a visa. Policy RecommendationsSpecifically, NIJC urges the Executive Office for Immigration Review and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to adopt the following four recommendations: 

1. Limit pro se (no attorney) stipulated orders of removal and develop guidelines regarding the use and distribution of stipulated orders of removal
2. Ensure that the Immigration Judge has all of the relevant information about each case before signing off on the waiver of a hearing
3. Educate detainees about their options – including any relief to which they might be eligible as well as the consequences of signing the order
4. Provide immigrants without criminal records the option of “voluntary departure” so that they have an opportunity to later seek legal status in the U.S.

Colombian Woman Ordered Deported to MexicoWhile some detainees choose to sign stipulated orders because they prefer deportation over detention, the National Immigrant Justice Center and other legal aid providers know of many cases in which detainees signed the forms unknowingly as a result of language barriers, disingenuous jail staff, or general misunderstanding of the deportation consequences, including a 10 year restriction on re-entering the United States. Many immigrants who sign the stipulated orders of removal are not aware of their legal rights or potential for eligibility to remain in the United States. 

Last year, the National Immigrant Justice Center provided legal assistance to a Colombian woman who had unknowingly signed a stipulated order of removal indicating that she was deportable to Mexico. This woman did not understand and was too frightened to realize that she agreed to be deported – and to a country that was not her own. She realized the mistake and told an ICE officer but was ignored until a NIJC attorney intervened to have the order rescinded. The attorney soon realized that the woman was afraid to return to Colombia and had an asylum claim, which she is pursuing.   

Contacts:
Hee Joo Yoon, KRC, 323-937-3718
HyunJoo Lee, NAKASEC, 323-937-3703

Korean Americans say NO to Prop 98!
Rent Control, Affordable Housing and Tenant Rights Upheld!

(Los Angeles, CA)  Community members celebrated last night with the defeat of Prop 98, a ballot measure that would have ended rent control, affordable housing development and tenant rights.  60.9% voted no on Prop 98, while Prop 99, a counter ballot to Prop 98, passed with 62.4%.  This is a significant victory for low-income and working class families that rely on rent control and affordable housing to survive in the current economic climate of house foreclosures and sky-rocketing gas and food prices.

The Korean Resource Center (KRC) and the National Korean American Service and Education Consortium (NAKASRC) carried out a Get-Out-The-Vote campaign which included mailing nearly 18,000 voter guides to registered Korean American voters, phone-banking close to 5,000 and visiting close to 2,000 at their homes to educate them on Prop 98 and to urge their civic participation on June 3rd.  The election results confirm what KRC and NAKASEC anticipated would be the response of the Korean American community:  

- Of the 4,813 registered Korean American voters who were phone-banked in May, 92% said they were going to vote on June 3rd and 89% said they would vote no on Prop 98, with 90% saying they would vote yes on Prop 99. 

- Of the 1,897 homes visited, 90% of voters contacted stated that they would be voting on Election Day, 98% said they would vote no on Prop and 96% said they would vote yes on Prop 99. 

“Prop 98 deeply energized the Korean American community.  There was a real fear from many of our working families and immigrant seniors of what would happen if Prop 98 passed and they channeled that fear into action, voting on Election Day and spreading the word among their friends and family members.  And many young Korean Americans came to KRC to phone bank because Prop 98 hit home for them.  We heard from many Korean American voters during the weeks leading up to June 3rd who told us that they had not planned on voting but became determined to be heard and defeat Prop 98.  Our community came together and mobilized to beat Prop 98, and we are proud to stand alongside them to celebrate its defeat,” said Eun Sook Lee, Executive Director of NAKASEC.

“Our work in promoting the civic participation of Korean Americans and fighting for issues important to our community does not end on June 3rd.  We must continue this momentum in the months leading to November and beyond because civic participation is not limited to elections; it is an integral part of our identity as Korean Americans,” said Hee Joo Yoon, Program Director of KRC. 

Since December 2007, KRC’s Power Vote has been meeting monthly to learn about the civic process and the issues that are important to the Korean American community.  The precinct leaders discussed ways to increase the civic participation of Korean Americans in Los Angeles and Orange County and was vital in KRC’s 2008 electoral work.  To get involved, please call KRC at 323.937.3718.