Comprehensive Immigration Reform Speak Out

Town Hall meeting on Immigration reform, December 18th, in Mission High school at S.F.

East Bay student pursues dream of citizenship

http://www.insidebayarea.com/timesstar/localnews/ci_13619363

When his mother told him that he and his family are undocumented immigrants, Ju Hong was devastated.

The East Bay teen’s seemingly normal childhood had been darkened overnight by a sad fact of which he had been blissfully unaware. Like millions of American immigrants, he learned, his mother fled economic desperation in her country for the United States. Like many others, she overstayed her visa with the hope of attaining citizenship for herself and her children. She never reached that goal.

Today — nearly a decade after settling in the Bay Area — Hong is a productive, law-abiding resident who desperately wants American citizenship. But until he gets it, he will be pushed — like other undocumented immigrants — to live in the shadows. He also risks deportation.

“I have a life that’s a daily lie,” said Hong, a student at a Bay Area college. “Emotionally, I’m drained because any day anything can happen to me.”

But instead of playing the victim, Hong is actively trying to find a solution. The answer, he believes, lies in improving immigration laws. With that goal in mind, he spoke last week at a Santa Clara rally, telling the crowd his life story and why the need for immigration reform is greater than ever. He then joined nearly 1,000 people in a march that ended at Santa Clara University.

Hong also joined more than 300 people from nearly 30 states last month in Washington, D.C. There, he attended a Citizenship Day rally. He also met with congressional aides, asking them to support the Dream Act, proposed federal legislation that would ease the path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.

It was Hong’s first trip to the nation’s capital. He made the journey with the help of the National Korean American Service & Education Consortium (NAKASEC), a national cultural and civil rights organization, and the Los Angeles-based Korean Resource Center.

Sookyung Oh, a NAKASEC official, said she hopes the students’ experience improves their understanding of what citizenship really means.

“Not just the legal definition of citizenship, but also the idea of giving service to a community and making it a better place,” Oh said. “We want to redefine citizenship as an action rather than a status.”

Some critics of undocumented immigrants argue that their illegal status undermines the regular citizenship process, and that they take jobs that legal citizens might hold.

However, Hong said all he wants is the freedom to give back to the country he calls his true home.

“My intention is to contribute to society, to work to boost the nation’s economy,” he said. “We’re not criminals; we’re striving to get an education and to make contributions to society.”

Hong is hopeful that the proposed Dream Act one day will provide him a path to citizenship, removing the biggest obstacle to him reaching his full potential. In the meantime, Hong hopes to use his new leadership role to help find solutions that benefit the country and its immigrants from all backgrounds.

“I want one day to get my law degree and maybe work in government,” he said. “I’d like to help others like me. I’d like to help those who are in my situation.”

Run.

I felt distressed as I sat down on my desk to an overwhelming load of work. I took off my heavy bag-pack on my shoulder and I walked outside of the house. I realized there is no one around but me. The familiar cool breeze welcomed me. It was peaceful. Once again, I was running alone at night.

I was running at night when everyone is sleeping, constantly fighting and battling to overcome my challenges. This is not my first time. Every night, I run and push myself to work extra hard to reach my goal without quitting. I always wanted to be prepared and think of what I can do to ahead of others. I try to do something that nobody has done it before; I always wanted to be the best. This is why I run at night.

Each block I passed by, I felt like I was one step closer to my destination. To me, every footstep was small portion of obstacles, and I knew I had to overcome these obstacles by constantly working hard. If I were to quit, it means I was giving up my goal. With strong determination, I was running, striving, and reaching for my ultimate destination. I kept on going.

The last corner where I struggled before, my mind kept telling to stop, but I didn’t give up because I wanted to finish strong. When I finally arrived home, I was confident of overcoming any difficult challenges.

The experience of running at night made me realized every aspect of our lives is like marathon. Just like running, everything requires of perseverance, commitment, and hard dedication in order to achieve its goal. This is when I realized nothing in life is easy, but rather everything is rewarded by the hard work. By learning valuable lessons from running, I will pursue everything with hard work and dedication.

Nightmare

Yesterday, I had a nightmare that I would never forget about what happened. Clearly, I remember everything because it was very similar dreams that I had it before. I was chasing by the immigration officials.

I was in a small room (cage setting) with group of students and several I.C.E (immigration Custom Enforcement) officials. One of the ICE officials shouted out loud, “Show me your identification!” Few students quickly stood up and showed their identification. I was one of the few students who couldn’t show my identification. I felt miserable. I began to panic as one of the officials looked at me furiously. He was ready to arrest me. But right before he was ready to arrest me, one of the students screamed and protest against the ICE. I took that advantage of distraction and ran away from ICE.

I didn’t know where I was going, but I kept running. When I turned around, I saw three ICE officials chasing after me in a close distance. I was burst into tears while I was running. My entire body was shaking and sweating, but I kept running. After endless hours of running, I ended up hiding in the below level of constructional building, alone. But few minutes later, ICE found me. I tried to run away from them but it was too late. I was terrified.  At the moment when they tried to hand-cuff me, I woke up with horror.

I couldn’t sleep until then.

오클랜드 레이니 칼리지 최초 한인 학생회장

http://www.koreatimes.com/article/549134

오클랜드 레이니(Laney) 칼리지 역사상 최연소이자 최초의 한인 학생회장(ASLC President)이 선출됐다. 주인공은 12살때 미국으로 유학온 홍주영씨.

홍주영(Ju Young Hong)씨는 정치학을 전공하고 있는 2학년 유학생으로 신입생이던 지난해 학생 자치회 아시안 아메리칸협회 회장을 역임하고 올해 대학을 대표하는 학생회장으로 당선, 가을학기부터 활동하고 있다.

12살의 어린나이에 홀로 미국으로 건너와 영어수업(ESL)을 받으며 공부하던 유학생이 당당히 대학 학생들의 목소리를 대표하는 학생회장으로 선출돼 다양한 학생 자치회의 활동들을 이끌어 나가고 있는 것.

홍씨는 학생회장 당선소감에 대해 “학교의 주체는 학생이라고 생각한다. 학교는 항상 학생들을 첫번째로 생각해야 하며 학생들의 목소리를 경청하려는 자세를 가져야 한다”면서 “학생회장 임기 첫해인 올해부터 학생회 자치활동에 더욱 많은 학생들이 적극적으로 참여할 수 있도록 학생회 임원들과 노력할 것이다. 나아가 학교가 학생들의 의견을 보다 적극적으로 수용할 수 있는 토대를 만들도록 최선을 다하겠다”고 밝혔다.

홍씨와 올해 처음으로 학생회 자치 활동을 펼치고 있는 임원들은 “홍주영 학생회장을 통해 유학생들이 미국의 대학에 와서 겪는 많은 어려움들을 이해하게 됐다”며 “또한 같이 학생회 활동을 하며 주류학생들 뿐만 아니라 다양한 인종 학생들의 네트워크를 하나로 묶어 다양한 학생 자치회 활동을 하게돼 너무나 즐겁다”고 말했다.

평소 경험해 보지 못했던 다양한 문화와 이념, 생각들을 주류사회 대학에 알려나가고 있는 최연소 학생회장이자 대학 최초의 한인 학생회장인 홍주영씨의 활동을 기대해 본다.

<김덕중 기자> djkim@koreatimes.com

이민자 단체 산호세서 이민개혁 집회

http://www.koreatimes.com/article/554141

“가족은 함께 살아야 한다” 드림법안 통과 호소

한인 이민자단체를 비롯한 소수민족의 이민자단체들이 무차별적인 이민 단속을 금지하고 조속한 이민개혁 법안의 통과를 촉구하는 집회를 열었다.

15일 오후 5시부터 산타클라라 대학에 운집한 500여명의 이민자단체와 각종 봉사단체들은 자넷 나폴리타노 국토안보부 장관이 추진하고 있는 무차별 단속과 추방은 물론, 온라인 신원조회(E-Verify) 프로그램과 연방정부 불법체류자 단속 프로그램인 287(g)에 대한 백지화를 촉구했다.

나폴리타노 장관은 이날 산타클라라 대학으로부터 공로상을 받고 이민 단속의 추후 전망에 대한 연설을 하기 위해 산호세를 방문했다.

이날 집회에는 LA지역에서 활동하고 있는 한인단체인 미주한인봉사교육단체협의회와 민족학교를 비롯해서 남가주와 워싱턴 주, 아이다호 및 오레건 주의 이민자단체 20여 곳에서 집회에 동참했다.

집회 연설원으로 참석한 이들은 한결같이 “이민자의 나라인 미국에서 잘못된 이민법으로 이민자들이 단속과 추방을 두려워하며 비인간적인 대우를 받고 있다”면서 조속한 이민개혁법안의 통과를 요구했다.

히스패닉 여고생은 “아버지와 헤어져 살아가고 있다”면서 “가족은 함께 살아야 되는 것이 아니냐”며 무차별 추방을 하는 이민당국에 대한 각성을 촉구했다.

오클랜드에 거주하는 한인 홍주영 학생도 연설을 통해 “공부 열심히 했으나 이민법에 묶여 대학진학을 할 수 없고 이로 인해 미래에 대한 꿈을 꿀 수가 없는 상태”라고 밝힌 뒤 “또한 언제 경찰이 들이닥칠지 몰라 가족들이 잠을 이루지 못한 날도 수 없이 많았다”고 그동안의 힘든 과정을 설명했다.

홍주영 학생은 이어 “이민개혁은 히스패닉계의 이민자에게만 해당되는 것이 아닌 소수민족 모두에게 해당되는 문제”라고 역설한 뒤 “이 자리에 모인 우리 모두가 힘을 모아 드림법안을 통과시킬 수 있도록 노력하자”고 강조했다.

집회에 참석한 일부 인사들은 “이민자들의 지지를 통해 대통령에 당선된 오바마 대통령이 부시 행정부에 비해 오히려 더욱 더 이민정책을 강화하는 모습을 보인다”며 오바마 행정부를 싸잡아 비난하기도 했다.

한편 민족학교 관계자들은 연사들이 이민개혁안에 대한 촉구와 무차별 단속과 추방을 금지하라고 강조할 때마다 북과 꽹과리 등을 두드리며 집회분위기를 뜨겁게 달구기도 했다.

<이광희 기자> khlee@koreatimes.com

<사진설명>
자넷 나폴리타노 국토안보부 장관의 산타클라라 대학 방문에 맞춰 한인 이민자단체를 비롯한 소수민족의 이민자단체들이 무차별적인 이민 단속과 추방을 중지할 것에 대한 집회를 열고 있는 가운데 홍주영 학생이 드림법안의 통과에 함께 힘을 모아 줄 것을 호소하고 있다.