FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 7, 2017
Contact: Sam Yu, syu@nakasec.org
AAPI Undocumented Youth and Allies Demand In-Person Meeting with Senator Schumer
Washington D.C. – On December 7, 2017, Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) community members from Virginia, Illinois, Ohio, California, Texas and Arkansas visited Senator Schumer’s office to ask for a stronger commitment to passing a clean DREAM Act this year in his role as Democratic Minority Leader. Participating in the visit were directly impacted young people, community organizers, and allies from the National Korean American Service & Education Consortium (NAKASEC). Upon entering Schumer’s office, the community members commenced a “Sing-In” with holiday themed protest songs to demonstrate a sense of urgency to Senator Schumer. Following the “Sing-In,” two senior staff from the Senator’s office met with the AAPI contingent and provided a space for them to voice their concerns.
(AAPI organizers from NAKASEC and our affiliates congregate in Senator Schumer’s office)
“What we want to know is will Senator Schumer fight for the 2 million undocumented young people in the United States? We want him to take a stand and commit to not voting on a government spending bill that will abandon its young people. A clean DREAM Act must be attached to the government spending bill and we call on Senator Schumer to be a leader in this battle,” explained Dae Joong (DJ) Yoon, Co-Director of (NAKASEC).
(DJ Yoon, Co-Director of NAKASEC, and Jungwoo Kim of the KRC wait patiently for an in-person meeting to be scheduled with Senator Schumer)
In addition to a commitment to attaching DREAM to a must-pass bill by the end of this year, NAKASEC also requested for the Senator to report to the community the results of today’s meeting with the Trump administration and to commit to an in-person meeting with young impacted leaders the week of December 11th. That meeting has since been declined. To underscore the high importance of meeting, two NAKASEC members committed to waiting in the Senator’s office until being forced to leave by Capitol police. NAKASEC and our affiliates, the Korean Resource Center (KRC) in Los Angeles and Orange County and HANA Center in greater Chicago, will be returning to Senator Schumer’s office until an in-person meeting is confirmed.
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Founded in 1994, the National Korean American Service & Education Consortium (NAKASEC)’s mission is to organize Korean and Asian Americans to achieve social, economic, and racial justice. NAKASEC maintains offices in Annandale, Virginia and Los Angeles, California and has affiliates in Chicago (Hana Center) and Los Angeles and Orange Counties (Korean Resource Center).
