Korean Americans March for America

Korean Americans March for America

Immigration stories are a cornerstone of America’s historical narrative. From grade school we learn of the Pilgrims’ trans-Atlantic journey to flee religious persecution and of “a mighty woman with a torch” who greeted European immigrants by the millions to Ellis Island. In these stories, tolerance and generosity are singularly American virtues that confer our country’s greatness.

Unfortunately, incomplete immigration stories linger in the present day, obstructed by opposition from a loud and persistent few. As a result, 11.8 million undocumented immigrants live in America’s shadows – they struggle to finance their educations as students, are exploited as workers, and are encumbered by an ever-present fear of deportation as families.

In a recent Huffington Post entry, Will Perez wrote that immigration reform “is of particular concern to Latinos, since 75% of undocumented immigrants are from Latin America.” However, the problems engendered by our immigration system affect a vastly diverse immigrant population. It is estimated that 10 percent of Asian American Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) are undocumented, and among the AAPI groups, Korean Americans are affected at the greatest rate, at 20 percent.

The history of Korean immigration to the U.S. is one variation on the American immigration narrative. Immigration began in the late 19th century, as Koreans came to work as laborers in Hawaii, but the bulk of it occurred after 1965 following the repeal of the Asian Exclusion Act. Legions of Koreans came to America in search of freedom from an oppressive political regime and opportunity for economic mobility. Nearly a quarter million Korean Americans are undocumented as the result of this promise of a better life coming into conflict with the realities of the immigration system.

Undocumented Korean American college students have been especially vocal in the fight for immigration reform. The stories of the measures taken by these students and their families to support a college education give the push to pass reform a special sense of urgency. Their hardship extends well beyond their ineligibility for financial aid. A huge question mark looms over their post-graduation plans – without a Social Security number, how are they to find employment? On February 1, one Korean American student reiterated these frustrations and spoke of his aspirations to become a professor before hundreds who had gathered at a Los Angeles church for an immigration town hall. And Ju Hong, an undocumented student from the Bay Area, has come out publicly about his status and blogs regularly on immigration issues.

As the immigration reform movement escalates in size and intensity, undocumented Korean American students will continue to make their voices heard. On March 21, over 100,000 people from every corner of America will come together in Washington D.C. to show their support for immigration reform in a “March For America,” and Korean Americans from California to New Jersey will be among them.

Eric is an undocumented Korean American student at an Ivy League university. He has taken the school year off in order to work and save money to pay for college; he waits tables at a Japanese restaurant 7 days a week, 12 hours a day on weekdays, and 13 hours a day on weekends. Despite his busy schedule, Eric will be coming to Washington on March 21 to march for immigration reform because, as he tells it, reform is not only his dream, but is “the dream of thousands of fellow immigrants who work hard to become American citizens in the land of opportunity.”

Immigration reform cannot wait, and the Korean American community will be present in Washington standing alongside other immigrant groups to encourage our legislators to take the action that America needs.

My feet is tired, but my soul is rested

Dear friends and supporters,

Today, we are going to witness a defining moment in history in our lives.

On January 1st, 2010, four passionate young immigrant students from Florida will walk 2,000 mile and 4-month long journey to rewrite the American History. These bravery students will begin to walk from Florida to Washington D.C. to bring sense of urgency to solve our broken immigration system. They are demanding President Obama to stop the separation of families and deportation of DREAMers. Most importantly, they want to see just and humane immigration reform that includes equal access to education, an end to the separation of families, worker’s rights, and a pathway to citizenship. By May 1st, 2010, they hope to stand in the U.S. Capitol with thousands of people across from the states to rally for the comprehensive immigration reform.

I want to share one of the four walker’s story, Gaby, who truly inspired me and thousands of other people in this country.

Gaby moved to Miami at the age of seven. Gaby holds an Associate of Arts degree in Music Education, and an Associate of Science in Early Childhood Education, as well as a BA in Exceptional Education Degree K-12 from Miami Dade College. She was the Student Government Association President at the Kendall Campus of Miami Dade College and the Florida Junior Community Colleges Student Government Association President in 2005-2006, representing 1.1 million students throughout Florida. Since 2003, she has been an advocate for the DREAM Act and in-state tuition and was one of the founding members of S.W.E.R. Gaby is a woman that would give the clothes on her back to help someone who needs it more. She walks for all the children without a voice and is willing to sacrifice herself to pave the way for their future because she believes in the power of love. She also believes that “the meltdown of our society will not start with global warming rather with intellectual freezing,” and she “can’t understand why we continue to detain young vibrant students when we know that we only live once and the future depends on the youth.” She walks because in her heart she knows that faith without action is dead!

Our task is clear and simple, we have to make these student’s dreams into reality. We must, because their dream is our dream, and their future is our future. We must, because if alone, can’t reach the final destination. They are calling us in California, they need our help. We may not be able to walk with them physically, but we can surely help them in many different ways. There are several ways we can help the students: 1. Fund-raise 2. In solidarity, fast and walk in our home base. 3. Visit trailofdreams.net to show our support. These are the ways to help them to achieve its goal, but there are plenty of other ways to help them as well. With that being said, I’m determined – I’m determined to sacrifice and risk myself to help them. However, my sacrifice is far beyond the measure from these bravery students, but I want to show in solidarity of support and I want to be part of making a history in 2010. So then, my question is, will you sacrifice with them? I believe through sacrifice is the only way to make our dreams into reality. Imagine how difficult for them to make a decision to sacrifice their education, their time, and their own body. They are completely exposing and risking themselves just to represent on behalf of 12 million immigrant’s dreams. Despite of all the odds and challenges, they are willing to fight for the dreams that will determine our future. Through this movement, I can clearly see the sense of urgency. They cannot wait, I cannot wait, and we as DREAMers cannot wait for another decades to fix the broken immigration reform. We cannot wait and time is now! I can see it, I can see it. So let’s make these student’s dreams into reality.

The time is critical and the opportunity is near, we must act as if 2010 will be the last chance for us. So let us sacrifice our needs and show our strength to reach our dreams. During a President Election campaign, Obama gave a great speech in the day before the Martin Luther King’s Holiday Day. He said, “Brothers and sisters, we cannot walk alone. In the struggle for peace and justice, we cannot walk alone. In the struggle for opportunity and equality, we cannot walk alone. In the struggle to heal this nation and repair this world, we cannot walk alone. So I ask you to walk with me, and march with me, and join your voice with mine, and together we will sing the song that tears down the walls that divide us, and lift up an America that is truly indivisible, with liberty, and justice, for all.” Again, this movement shouldn’t be just four students alone. This is not a Florida’s action; this is a national wide action to fulfill our dreams.

2010 is going to be a special year for all of us. It is the year that we don’t need to just dream, it is the year that we will make our dreams into reality. It will be the year that we will celebrate together and begin a new chapter for our lives.

I want to close out with speech that Martin Luther King Jr. gave during civil rights movement’s era. Dr. Martin Luther King spoke to this fatigue the week after the Selma March in a message titled “Our God is Marching On. “We have walked through desolate valleys and across the trying hills. We have walked on meandering highways and rested our bodies on rocky byways. Some of our faces are burned from the outpourings of the sweltering sun. Some have literally slept in the mud. We have been drenched by the rains. Our bodies are tired and our feet are somewhat sore. But today as I stand before you and think back over that great march, I can say, as Sister Pollard said—a seventy-year-old Negro woman who lived in this community during the bus boycott—and one day, she was asked while walking if she didn’t want to ride. And when she answered, “No,” the person said, “Well, aren’t you tired?” And with her ungrammatical profundity, she said, “My feet is tired, but my soul is rested.”

My prayer goes out to four bravery students walking Florida to Washington D.C.

Sincerely.

Sides forming in next immigration-reform push

Immigration-reform legislation has backing of 92 Democrats — but no Republicans.

Sides forming in next immigration-reform push

By Matt O’Brien
Contra Costa Times

SAN FRANCISCO — The prospect of millions of illegal immigrants earning a path to citizenship is now back on the table in Congress, though the first bill out of the chute has already split some California progressives and has zero support from Republicans.

Bay Area immigrant families and their allies rallied Friday at a San Francisco high school to promote legalization and other measures that would overhaul U.S. immigration policy, which has not substantially changed for more than a decade.

They were united in favor of a humanitarian approach to reforming immigration policy, though disagreed on the finer details of a 650-page reform bill introduced last week by 92 liberal Democratic lawmakers, including four from the Bay Area.

At its crux, the bill introduced by Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., would allow people living in the U.S. without legal documents to pay a $500 fee and show they made contributions to the U.S. through work, school, volunteering or military service. After six years on a conditional visa, those who qualify can get a green card and eventually obtain citizenship.

The bill is designed in part to put pressure on President Barack Obama, who has pledged to take on immigration reform next year and has advocated an overhaul that would include a path to citizenship. Opponents have characterized the bill as permissive and doomed to fail.

That is a longer process than the last time the United States legalized immigrants in 1986, a move that then-President Ronald Reagan asserted would “improve the lives of a class of individuals who now must hide in the shadows, without access to many of the benefits of a free and open society.”

This time, however, there are millions more immigrants living in the country illegally, rising populist anger over joblessness and demographic change, and a belief among the inheritors of Reagan’s conservative movement that amnesty for lawbreaking only encourages more.

“This is cynical legislation because there’s no chance this is going to get passed,” said Novato resident Rick Oltman of Californians for Population Stabilization. “Given all the difficulties they’re having right now with the health care bill, and with the president’s popularity falling in the polls, there’s no chance they’re going to pass this because it has no support from the American people.”

The bill would also include enforcement provisions, though conservatives say not nearly enough. Immigrant advocates, in turn, say it is too focused on enforcement.

“It continues to treat immigration as a national security issue and stops short of doing away with some of the biggest problems in our current immigration system,” said Colin Rajah of the Oakland-based National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights.

In promoting the bill, Gutierrez wrote in the Huffington Post that “it legalizes five percent of the workforce; it eliminates the guesswork in hiring through a smart and dependable employment verification system; and it eradicates the need for localities to take matters into their own hands by requiring businesses and landlords to check IDs of their clients and tenants.”

What the measure is missing, so far, is support from key House Democrats who would have to negotiate a workable immigration bill next year with conservative Democrats and Republicans. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, has indicated she would rather have the Senate move first on immigration, while House immigration leader Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-San Jose, has not made any comment on Gutierrez’s plan.

Seventeen of the 34 Democrats in California’s congressional delegation have co-sponsored the bill, including Bay Area lawmakers Rep. Mike Honda, D-Campbell; Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Oakland; Rep. Pete Stark, D-Fremont; and Rep. Lynn Woolsey, D-Petaluma.

Not listed as a sponsor was Rep. George Miller, D-Martinez, but he said in a statement that introducing the bill “represents a positive step forward in the debate to fix our nation’s broken immigration system.” Miller said he was pleased the bill includes legislation he introduced to end abuses of foreign guest workers by putting more restrictions on the employers who hire them.

Rep. John Garamendi, D-Walnut Grove, was still reviewing the bill, but aides said he supports comprehensive immigration reform with a pathway to citizenship. Rep. Jerry McNerney, D-Pleasanton, had no comment.

Immigrant advocates hope the bill, even if it is unlikely to pass in its current form, sets a pro-immigrant tone early in the debate and puts the onus on Obama to make it a priority. Young immigrants and the U.S.-born children of unauthorized immigrants expressed a sense of urgency at the Friday evening rally at Mission High School.

“I am doing this to help my mom and my sister and my family and other undocumented students who are suffering,” said a 20-year-old Oakland college student who did not want to give his name because he fears deportation.

The family arrived from South Korea when he was 12, and the student said he did not know he was here on an expired visa until he began applying for schools and a driver’s license as a high school senior. An act of Congress, he said, is his chance to stay.

“Two million undocumented immigrants are Asian, and I’m one of them,” he said. “It’s really crucial to me for this bill to be passed. This is the only thing I’m relying on, depending on.”

Though many advocates disagreed over various parts the bill, they put aside some of those quarrels to counter what is likely to be a bigger obstacle: The conventional wisdom that high unemployment in California and across the country makes the bill or anything like it politically untenable.

“The problem is not immigrants. The problem is poverty, trade agreements that increase that poverty, the criminalization of work,” said East Bay immigrant rights activist and author David Bacon. “No immigrants shut down the NUMMI plant (in Fremont). The economic problems we have in this country are not the fault of immigrants.”

key proposals in democrats’
immigration reform bill
The Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America’s Security and Prosperity Act, introduced last week by Congressional Democrats, would overhaul the nation’s immigration policies. Among the provisions: