For Immediate Release
July 3, 2008
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)
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