For Immediate Release: November 15, 2017
CONTACT:
Michelle Boykins, mboykins@advancingjustice-aajc.org, 202-296-2300 x144
Marian Manapsal, mmanapsal@apalanet.org, 650-291-4465
Sam Yu, syu@nakasec.org, 571-247-8339
Over 120 Asian American and Pacific Islander Immigrant Youth and Allies Participate in 2-day Mobilization Demanding Passage of a Clean DREAM Act
Washington, D.C. — Over the next two days, more than 120 Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) immigrant youth and allies from over 15 states will convene at the U.S. Capitol to demand the passage of a clean DREAM Act by December 8. After the termination of DACA on September 5, eighteen AAPI organizations came together to form the AAPI immigrant rights organizing table to organize and advocate for a clean DREAM Act.
The convening will open November 15 with a press conference and a rally followed by over 30 meeting with legislators on both sides of the aisle, urging them to support a clean DREAM Act that supports a pathway to citizenship for immigrant youth without harming other members of the immigrant community.
When the first DREAM Act was introduced 16 years ago, it was inspired by an Asian American student barred from attending a prestigious music college due to her immigration status. Today almost 17,000 AAPIs have benefitted from the DACA program with South Korea, China, India and the Philippines being among the top countries of origin of AAPI DACA-eligible populations.
It is Congress’ moral responsibility to ensure that a clean DREAM Act is passed before the end of the year and is attached to the spending bill to be voted on December 8. Every day we wait, more and more immigrant youth fall out of status losing their ability to work and drive, attain a higher education, and protection from deportation.
Mobilization led by the undocumented community is what won DACA in the first place. Together, we will not stop until a clean DREAM Act is passed and until all 11 million undocumented immigrants have a pathway to citizenship.
For more information, go to aapidream.org.
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Participating groups include: 18MillionRising • Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF) • Asian Americans Advancing Justice • Association of Asian Pacific Community Health Organizations (AAPCHO) • Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA), AFL-CIO • ASPIRE • HANA Center • Korean Resource Center • NAKASEC • National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF) • National Council of Asian Pacific Americans (NCAPA) • National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA) • OCA – Asian Pacific American Advocates • OCA-Asian Pacific American Advocates Greater Seattle • RAISE (Revolutionizing Asian American Immigrant Stories on the East Coast) • South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT) • Southeast Asia Resource Action Center (SEARAC) • The Office of Philadelphia City Councilmember Helen Gym • UPLIFT
