For immediate release
August 1, 2008
Contact:
Sookyung Oh, NAKASEC, 323.937.3703, ext. 206
NAKASEC Denounces New DHS Pilot Program “Operation Scheduled Departure”
Less Substance and More Bells & Whistles from DHS
(Los Angeles, CA) The National Korean American Service & Education Consortium (NAKASEC) condemns the Department of Homeland Security’s latest preposterous prescription to address the broken immigration system. “Operation Scheduled Departure” is a pilot program that will be launched on August 5 in five cities (Santa Ana, San Diego, Phoenix, Chicago, and Charlotte) that promotes voluntary deportation of individuals with existing orders of deportation.
“Rather than investing time and effort to pursue meaningful and workable solutions, this federal agency is promoting mass deportation – a strategy that most Americans have clearly spoken out against,” stated Inhe Choi, Senior Organizing Director, Korean American Resource & Cultural Center.
“Operation Scheduled Departure” is a program that calls for undocumented immigrants without criminal records to turn themselves in at Immigration and Customs Enforcement offices. In return for “self-deporting,” immigrants would be processed and get a few weeks to arrange their affairs before leaving the country without being detained.
“Immigrants come to the United States to work, care for their families and communities, and contribute greatly to the economic and social fabric of this country. ICE’s presumption that individuals would just pick up and leave and report first to immigration offices is a stretch of the imagination,” stated HeeJoo Yoon, Program Director, Korean Resource Center.
