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!

=====================

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.

###

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).

4월 25일 미 연방 대법원은 아리조나의 반 이민법 SB1070이 헌법에 위배되는 지의 여부를 가리기 위한 공청회를 열 예정입니다. 법원의 판결은 6월 중순에서 말사이에 내려질 예정입니다. 미주한인교육봉사협의회(이하 미교협)은 민권단체, 이민자그룹, 진보단체 및 노동계, 종교계의 지도자들과 함께 연합, 이날 워싱턴 디씨에서 이 법의 위법성을 널리 알리고 철폐를 요구하고자 합니다.

SB1070에 관련된 대법원 판결은 우리가 살고 있는 국가를 정의하게 될 것이며, 그 핵심은 SB1070과 그 유사한 법들이 유색인종, 이민권, 노동권, 투표권 등에 대한 대대적인 공격의 한 형태라는 것입니다. 만약 그 법이 본래 형태대로 관철된다면, 수많은 다른 주들이 아리조나의 예를 따라 이민서류 제시를 강제하는 인종차별법을 만들 것입니다. 뿐만 아니라 이민단속절차에 관련해서 연방정부와 주 정부의 관계를 근본적으로 바꿔 놓을 수 있어 우려됩니다. 이 법의 철폐를 통해 대법원은 선례를 세워 주단위의 인종차별정책을 방지할 수 있게 될 것입니다.

대법원 공청회에 관한 자세한 정보(영어, 한국어)는 다음을 참고하세요: http://bit.ly/HWtV5k

행사: 대법원 공청회 관련 정의를 요구하는 대중행사

일시: 2012년 4월 25일 수요일 오전 11시

**미교협과 아시안계 권익옹호단체들및 커뮤니티 지도자들은 유니언스테이션의 반즈앤노블 서점앞에서 10시 15분에 집결, 대법원까지 함께 행진할 예정입니다.**

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

참여단체 : 노동계, 민권, 이민단체, 진보단체 및 종교계 지도자들, 미교협과 아시안계 권익옹호단체

행사에 참석하고 싶은 단체와 개인들은 조이스 인씨, jyin@nakasec.org, 415-680-4447 에게 연락하시면 됩니다. 관련 정보는www.nakasec.org를 참조하시기 바랍니다.

###

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.”

###

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).

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보도의뢰서
2012년 4월 13일

연락:

로스엔젤레스의 4.29시민소요 사태 20주년을 맞이하여 미주한인봉사교육단체 협의회 (이하 미교협)와 그 가입단체인 시카고의 한인교육문화마당집(이하 시카고 마당집)과 로스엔젤레스의 민족학교는 커뮤니티 권익 보호, 정치력 신장, 이민개혁 진전을 위한 핵심 활동에 한인 커뮤니티의 동참을 촉구한다. (참가 할 수 있는 활동 및 행사 별첨 참고)

1990년대에 걸쳐 일어난4.29시민소요 사태를 비롯한 일련의 반이민 움직임은 한인 커뮤니티가 적극적으로 지역사회에서 변화의 주체가 될 것을 요구했다. 1994년의 캘리포니아 반이민 주민 발의안 187번에서부터 1996년 연방 웰페어 개혁의 파괴적인 영향에 이르기까지 한인 커뮤니티는 역사의 큰 사건 속에서 커뮤니티 정치력 신장 및 시민참여를 통해 인종 차별을 극복하고 타 민족과 함께 나아가는 정치적 방향을 찾았다.

로스 앤젤레스 민족학교의 윤대중 사무국장은 “4.29사태의 중요한 교훈은 한인 커뮤니티가 힘을 하나로 모아서 억압받는 다른 커뮤니티와 연대하여 경제 정의 및 사회 정의로 나아가는 이정표를 세워야 한다는 것이었다. 그리고 우리는 바로 그러한 방향으로 나아가고 있다.” 라고 미교협 가입 단체들의 활동을 평가했다. “우리는 1994년 지역사회로터 미교협을 설립하여 시민사회의 정치의식을 일깨워 풀뿌리 차원에서 전국 현안을 다루기 시작했다. 미교협을 통해 다양한 계층에게 영향을 끼치는 캠페인들을 출범하고 지역 리더들을 키워내었다.”

한인들은 청소년부터 노년층에 이르기까지 세대를 초월하여 1990년대의 웰페어 개혁부터 2009년 저소득층 어린이들을 위한 의료 보험 캠페인의 승리와 교육에 대한 접근권에 이르는 캠페인에 참여하여 뜻을 같이하는 타 커뮤니티와 함께 새로운 길을 열어왔다. 미교협과 가입단체들은 한인 커뮤니티에 뿌리를 내리고 미국에서 진보적인 운동을 향한 강력한 목소리로 성장했다.

이 활동의 핵심 부분은 한인 유권자들이 시민권 신청에서 투표를 통한 영향력 발휘로 이어지는 시민참여 프로그램의 개발이다. 투표를 통해 커뮤니티의 현안에 대해 목소리를 낼 수 있게 된 것이다.

시카고 마당집의 손식 사무국장은 “시카고 한인사회는 1996년부터 시카고 마당집을 통해 다차원적인 시민참여 프로그램을 출범하고 유권자 등록, 유권자 투표독려, 및 유권자 교육의 활동을 펼쳐왔다. 이러한 프로그램은 한인 사회에서 전례가 없는 것이다.”라고 강조했다. 우리는 지속적인 한인 유권자 조직 활동을 기반으로 최근 한인 유권자 프로젝트를 출범시켰고, 3월에 있은 일리노이주예비선거에서 한인 유권자 조기투표의 날을 성공적으로 진행시켰다. 쿡 카운티 서버브 선관위의 공식 발표에 따르면, 3월3일 조기투표의 날 행사가 진행된 글렌뷰 빌리지홀 조기투표소에서는 300명의 한인이 투표에 참여했으며, 쿡 카운티 서버브 44개 투표소중에서 조기투표 기간중 가장 많은 유권자가 참여한 투표소및 날짜로 기록됐다. 우리는 이번 성공을 발판으로, 11월 선거에서는 더욱 더 많은 참여를 이끌어 낼 것이다.

미교협 하모나 사무국장은 아래와 같이 덧붙였다. “한인들은 어느 때보다도 미국 사회의 기반을 튼튼히 다지는 것에 중요한 역할을 맡을 수 있다. 그것은 풀뿌리 교육 및 권익 활동과 함께 시작되는 것이다. 20년 전과 마찬가지로, 우리는 오늘날 익숙한 도전에 직면해 있다. 이민자, 유권자, 여성 및 노동자의 권익이 침해 당하고 있다. 가정들은 가계를 유지하는데 어려움을 겪고 있으며, 이민자 젊은이들은 교육의 기회를 얻지 못하고 있다. 4월과 5월 동안 미교협은 변화를 일으키기 위해 협동적으로 활동과 봉사 정신을 조장 할 것이다. 로스엔젤레스에서 시카고와 위싱턴 디씨에 이르기까지 한인들은 변화를 가져올 기회를 가지고 있으며, 그것은 우리 커뮤니티에서부터 시작된다.”

미주한인봉사교육단체협의회, 시카고 한인교육문화마당집, 그리고 민족학교는 유권자 등록, 시민권 신청, 교육에 대한 접근권 그리고 이민자 권익 및 민권 활동에 함께 할 커뮤니티 구성원을 모집하고 있다.

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미주한인봉사교육단체협의회 (미교협)은 1994년에 사회 변화를 위한 전국적인 운동 창출이라는 큰 목표의 일환으로 코리안 아메리칸의 전국적인 진보적 목소리를 결집시키고 완전한 시민 참여를 증진시키기 위해 지역 커뮤니티 단체들에 의해 설립되었다. 미교협은 워싱턴 디씨와 로스앤젤레스에 사무실을 두고 있으며 가입단체로는 로스앤젤레스 민족학교와 시카고의 시카고 마당집이 있다.

4∙29 20주년 기념 활동의 달

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워싱턴 디씨

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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