May 17, 2007
Immediate Release
Contacts:
EunSook Lee, NAKASEC, 323-937-3703
Becky Belcore, KRCC, 773-506-9158
YuSoung Mun, YKASEC, 718-460-5600
Dae Joong Yoon, KRC, 323-937-3718
NAKASEC Statement on the Immigration Reform Deal
Brokered by Key Members of the Senate & White House
(Los Angeles, CA) - The National Korean American Service & Education Consortium (NAKASEC) and its affiliates – Korean American Resource & Cultural Center of Chicago, Korean Resource Center of Los Angeles, and YKASEC-Empowering the Korean American Community of New York – represent communities around the country that are active participants in the current movement for immigration reform. As a community composed of one out of five who is undocumented and working in the underground economy and tens of thousands caught in the family immigration backlogs, this issue is of utmost importance to Korean Americans. Moreover, Korean Americans are predominantly an immigrant population who knows intimately the devastating impact of denying individuals basic due process rights and civil liberties.
We are living in an important political time with the potential to realize the dreams and desires of millions in our nation with the enactment of a truly comprehensive, just and humane immigration reform bill. The deal brokered on May 17th by Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA), key Republican senators and the White House fails to meet our aspirations. The legalization component of the deal is significant because there appears to be the opportunity for most of the 12 million undocumented immigrants to legalize their immigration status. Yet it would be following an incredibly long wait period and after fulfilling rigorous and unrealistic requirements of eligibility, including the required touchback for applicants to their country of origin. With this exception, the remaining components of the deal are simply unworkable and unacceptable.
We cannot support a deal that shatters the current family based immigration system by eliminating preferences for siblings and adult children as well as severely restricting entry for parents. Similarly, we cannot support a deal that proposes a future worker program with virtually no path to citizenship. We are essentially on the road to recreate the problems that face us to today by creating a permanent underclass of unprotected immigrants -- the new undocumented for the future.
In the days ahead, our community will continue to work hard to communicate clearly that we will support a serious and humane legislative vehicle that will address our policy principles. The principles that guide our work are: create a path to legalization for all, preserve the current family immigration system by maintaining the four family preference categories, path to citizenship for all future workers, and protect workers’ rights & due process.
To this end, we will continue to educate, organize & mobilize our community. In the weeks to come, we will ensure that our community’s concerns will be heard in the halls of Congress. We continue this work because we believe that just & humane immigration reform is key to building America’s future.
Attachment
On May 17th, Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA) announced that a deal was reached with key Republican senators and the White House on immigration reform. Contents include:
* 1,200백만 서류미비자 신분 합법화는 2007년 1월 전에 미국에 입국한 사람들을 대상으로 하며, 계층적으로 차별을 두지 않되, 자국으로의 출국과 재입국을 요구하는 “터치백” 조건을 만족해야 한다.(예외조항 있음) 또한 광범위한 선행조건으로 서류미비자 신분 합법화까지 20년 이상 기다려야할 지도 모른다. 그리고 높은 수수료는 청소년을 제외한 각각의 신청자들에게 부과될 것이다.
* 특정법(Section 203 of the Voting Right Act.- 자국의 언어로 된 투표 안내물을 받아볼 수 있도록 함)을 제외하고 모든 정부관련 업무과정에 영어사용을 강제하는 조항을 둔다.
* 부모 초청 비자를 대폭 줄이고, 형제, 자매, 성인 자녀(결혼여부와 상관없음) 초청 비자는 삭제한다.
* 2년 유효기간의 400,000개의 임시 노동비자를 할당한다. 이 비자는 갱신을 통해 2년 더 유효기간을 연장할 수 있으나, 자국으로 돌아가 1년동안 머물러야 하는 조건을 만족해야 한다. 시민권 취득 통로는 사실상 없다. 시민권 취득과 관련하여 규칙이 엄격한 점수 시스템에 기반한 단 30,000개의 비자만이 할당된다.