Reform in in our hands!
Friends of the Korean Resource Center and NAKASEC,
as you know, talks on immigration reform are gaining speed, and communities are preparing for campaigns to push for comprehensive immigration reform once it is introduced in congress. The Korean Resource Center and NAKASEC prepared a meeting to discuss reform with the community today, Saturday March 17th at 4:00 pm
Korean American Immigration Reform Legalization Components and Campaign Community Discussion Meeting
March 17th 2007, 4:00pm
Korean Resource Center
900 S Crenshaw Bl, Los Angeles CA 90019
Components needed by our community in any immigration reform package are as follows:
1. Legalization and path to citizeship for undocumented immigrants
2. DREAM Act (legalization of undocumented students)
3. Family reunification (end to backlogs)
4. Protect worker's rights
5. Protect Civil Rights and Civil Liberties
at the previous meeting of February 27th, 30 people participated and discussed and learned about the basics components of reform. Members jointly pledged to get 130 postcards signed, and showed great interest in the Night of a 1,000 Conversations (dicussion on civil rights and due process) and the May 1st APA Lobby Day. A detailed report will be sent to participants as it becomes available.
At today's meeting, we wish to discuss specific proposals about the legalization of the undocumented. As widely publized by the media (see links), there are various clauses proposed for legalization. One proposed last year was to divide immigrants in three tiers by their time of arrival and give them differential treatment. Another is the touch-back clause, which proposes that undocumented immigrants return to their home country and then receive a visa to "arrive legally to the US".
We would like to explain these proposals and decide what the opinion of our community is with regards to these proposals. We will also report and discuss ongoing immigration reform campaigns. For any questions, please contact Yongho Kim (yongho [at] krcla.org, 323-937-3718).
The next meeting is April 5th (Thursday), and we plan on having meetings in multiple places at different times across Southern California to discuss civil rights, called "Night of a 1,000 Conversations). Civil rights clauses in the reform package includes the right to see a judge, the right to appeal, and other rights. We hope that those of you who live far from K-Town and have difficulty attending our meetings, will be able to join us in that opportunity. For more information on this meeting, please contact Hee Joo Yoon (yoonheejoo [at] krcla.org, 323-937-3718)
Thank you,
Yongho Kim
Immigrant Rights Project Coordinator
Korean Resource Center
323-937-3718
yongho [at] krcla.org