For Immediate Release
May 26, 2015
Contact:
National Contact: Emily Kessel, eakessel@nakasec.org
Virginia Contact: Dong Yoon Kim, dkim@nakasec.org
Illinois Contact: Nayoung Ha, nayoung@chicagokrcc.org
California Contact: Jenny Seon, jenny@krcla.org
NAKASEC and Affiliates Remain Confident that Families Will Win in Anti-Immigrant Legal Battle
5th Circuit Court of Appeals Court Denies Emergency Stay Request, Denying Millions of Immigrant Families Relief
WASHINGTON, DC – The National Korean American Service and Education Consortium (NAKASEC), Korean Resource Center (KRC), and Korean American Resource and Cultural Center (KRCC) are deeply disappointed by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals decision today to deny the US Department of Justice’s request for an emergency stay to lift the anti-immigrant lawsuit, Texas v. United States of America. An emergency stay would have allowed the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA) and expanded Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) programs, announced by President Obama last November, to move forward. The decision of the appeals panel, which ruled two-to-one, forces nearly 5 million eligible immigrants, including 1,572,000 in California and 280,000 in Illinois, and 92,000 in Virginia, to continue to wait for relief that would allow hardworking families to earn a fair living and stay together with their loved ones.
The decision on the stay is a huge letdown to our community, but the Obama administration’s appeal of the Texas decision is still pending. The Fifth Circuit Court has scheduled oral arguments on the appeal, separate from the stay, for the week of July 6.
Dae Joong Yoon, executive director of NAKASEC; Inhe Choi, executive director of KRCC; and Jenny Seon, immigrant rights project director of KRC, released the following joint statement:
“Today is just another bump in the road to what we believe is an inevitable victory for our community. We will win because the President’s executive actions are on the right side of history and the need for DACA and DAPA to pave the way for a permanent solution is growing. In the meantime, NAKASEC, KRC, and KRCC will urge our community to apply for the existing DACA program, to naturalize, and to register to vote. And we remain committed to encouraging eligible community members to prepare for expanded DACA and DAPA. We will not give up because in the end it is not the lawsuit that holds the power but rather our Asian American and immigrant communities.”
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The National Korean American Service & Education Consortium (NAKASEC) was founded in 1994 by local community centers to project a progressive voice and promote the full participation of Korean Americans on major social justice issues. NAKASEC maintains offices in Annandale, Virginia and Los Angeles, California. NAKASEC has affiliates in Chicago (Korean American Resource & Cultural Center) and Los Angeles and Orange County (Korean Resource Center).
