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Immediate Release
June 27, 2012
Contacts:
Morna Ha, NAKASEC, mha@nakasec.org | 202-299-9540Dae Joong Yoon, KRC, djyoon@krcla.org | 323-937-3718
Sik Son, KRCC, sohnsik@chicagokrcc.org | 773-293-4050
On Heels of Major Immigration Announcements, Community and Voters Activated
The National Korean American Service and Education Consortium and its affiliates the Korean Resource Center in Los Angeles and the Korean American Resource and Cultural Center in Chicago are launching the “Asian American & Pacific Islander Families Campaign” which seeks to elevate the faces and voice of the fastest growing community in the United States during a critical election year.
Between now and November 6, the “AAPI Families Campaign” will urge community members to submit photographs of themselves in support of the “AAPI Families Platform” – a set of principles on the issues at stake this election year. These images will be used to create Get Out the Vote advertisements placed in media markets in strategic geographic locations and will be delivered to the 2012 Presidential and certain Congressional candidates.
“Our families are what bring us strength. We believe that a strong family makes for a strong America. But the broken immigration system and current economic challenges are breaking families apart,” said Sik Son executive director of KRCC. “The AAPI Families Platform speaks directly not only to our community but also uplifts the principles that will strengthen our nation as a whole during these uncertain times.”
The Campaign comes on the heels of two major immigration announcements, a priority voting issue for AAPIs.
“The tides are just beginning to turn for our communities. In the last two weeks, we have experienced massive game-changers in the fight for immigrant families. Young people have been temporarily relieved of the shackles of their immigration status. The Supreme Court struck down major provisions of Arizona’s ill-conceived SB1070 law but let stand the “show me your papers” provision, the most egregious. We must press on to protect what we have won and continue to find more permanent solutions to our nation’s broken immigration system. Our elected officials need to know where we stand and we will use this Campaign and the ballot box to voice it,” said Morna Ha, executive director of NAKASEC.
The Campaign is part of NAKASEC’s larger 2012 non-partisan electoral effort that will register, educate, and mobilize Korean Americans voters in Southern California, Illinois, Virginia, and Maryland. Since 1996, KRC, KRCC, and NAKASEC have turned out Korean American voters for every major election.
“The stakes are too high for our communities this year. Every day, I work with parents and young people who are struggling under this broken immigration system and this terrible economy,” said DaeJoong Yoon, executive director of KRC. “AAPI families need to get educated and activated to make sure that their elected officials know for whom and for what they are working for. Our faces will serve as a reminder.”
The AAPI Families Platform includes:
- Keep families together through humane immigration policies;
- Ensure that all young people have access to an affordable education and a future, including a pathway to legalization and in-state tuition options;
- Build strong neighborhoods by protecting affordable housing and stopping unnecessary foreclosures; and
- Restore the American dream by demanding the wealthiest pay their fair share and invest in the public good.
Please visit www.aapifamiliescampaign.wordpress.com for more information. And for an initial collection of photographs submitted, please visit http://aapifamiliescampaign.tumblr.com/.
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