For Immediate Release
Monday, October 14, 2015
Contact:
CALIFORNIA: Healy Ko, hko@nakasec.org
ILLINOIS: Nayoung Ha, nayoung@chicagokrcc.org
VIRGINIA/NATIONAL: Emily Kessel, eakessel@nakasec.org
NAKASEC and Affiliates Say Enough Is Enough: Immigrant Families Cannot Wait Any Longer
The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals needs to make a decision now on the lawsuit halting the implementation of DACA+/DAPA
WASHINGTON DC— The National Korean American Service and Education Consortium (NAKASEC) and its affiliates, the Korean American Resource and Cultural Center (KRCC) and Korean Resource Center (KRC), stand in solidarity with impacted families and immigrant rights leaders who have gathered in New Orleans in a unified effort to end the suffering of millions of families waiting to apply for the DAPA (Deferred Action for Parents of U.S. Citizens and Lawful Permanent Residents) and expanded DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) programs. Impacted community members from across the country including Arizona, California, Maryland, and New Mexico have come together to join the “The Fast to Keep Families Together” – a powerful nine-day fast and vigil outside the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans launching on October 14. NAKASEC, KRCC, and KRC have committed to fasting in a series of one-day fasts throughout the nine days to stand in solidarity with the fasters in New Orleans and uplift the stories of impacted Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community members and ally supporters.
Throughout the nine-day fast, NAKASEC, KRCC, and KRC will hold conversations with youth and seniors about the current state of DACA+/DAPA and the fasting efforts in New Orleans to keep our community informed and engaged.
NAKASEC Executive Director Dae Joong Yoon, KRCC Executive Director Inhe Choi, and KRC Interim Executive Director Jenny Seon released the following statement: “There is so much at stake for Asian Americans, Latinos, and immigrants. Keeping families waiting in limbo to advance an anti-immigrant agenda is unjust and inhumane. DACA+ and DAPA will be an issue in the 2016 elections and we’ll make sure that our community knows who has gotten in the way of administrative relief programs that would allow them to live as full members of this society and keep their families together. We will be encouraging all eligible community members to naturalize, register to vote, and hit the polls in 2016 to ensure that the AAPI vote plays a crucial role in the future direction of this country. To the 5th Circuit Court— We need a decision now. To the 26 states signed onto the lawsuit— Put families first and drop this hateful lawsuit. To the AAPI community — Join us in for an AAPI solidarity fast on October 22 and share what DACA+/DAPA means to you on twitter or facebook using the hashtag #FamiliesFightBack.”
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[VIRGINIA- Specific]
In Virginia, NAKASEC was also joined by the General Register for Fairfax County Cameron Sasnett to speak about the importance of voting and the role of Fairfax County.
Max Kim from Annandale, Virginia: “Rather than the amount of people registered to vote, I think it is more important that we were able to get more youth to volunteer to help make a change in the community.”
Victor Huynh from Annandale, Virginia: “It is important for people to vote during this year’s Virginia general elections because the people we’re voting for have the ability to directly impact community members here. And it is important to have support for people in our community be able to say what we want and need through our votes.”
Minsu Kang from Annandale, Virginia: “I think there should be more youth programs, like what have at NAKASEC, at schools and libraries to get more young people involved with social justice and to show the importance of what we could do to make our community’s voice more visible.”
Dong Yoon Kim, Program Associate at NAKASEC, said: “Our youth volunteers have been out at markets, universities, and metro stations registering eligible community members to vote. We call on students and other community members in Virginia to join our outreach efforts to ‘Get Out the Vote’ by and make the Asian American and immigrant vote really count this November 3rd. We are dedicated to helping community members become active members of this society by registering and voting in the 2015 General elections and 2016 presidential elections.“
Emily Kessel, Policy Coordinator at NAKASEC, said: “As part of the national effort to end the lawsuit halting the implementation of DACA+ and DAPA, we, in Virginia, will join one-day fasts in solidarity with the fasters in New Orleans and engage in conversations with our high school and college youth about what DACA and DAPA means to the immigrant community in Virginia. Applying for DACA, naturalizing, registering to vote, and hitting the polls are what we need to make our community strong!”
