The Pressure Is On

Passed in the House of Representatives in February, the REAL ID Act’s anti-immigrant provisions are still being followed closely by immigrant communities. In efforts to "fast-track" the REAL ID Act through Congress, the House attached it as an amendment to an emergency appropriations bill. On April 6, the Senate appropriations committee marked up the emergency bill without the REAL ID provisions, but it is still unclear whether the provisions will be included in the bill. In either case, the REAL ID Act will be up for Congressional debate in the coming weeks. For more information, please see the NAKASEC Web site, www.nakasec.org.

Currently, NAKASEC, in conjunction with KRC and several other organizations, is participating in a call-in to appropriations and judiciary committee member Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA). Hundreds of calls have been generated by community members voicing concerns about the REAL ID Act. These organizations also produced a sign-on letter for community, labor, faith, and political leaders that opposes the provisions found in the act and calls for a meeting with Sen. Feinstein.

The DREAM Continues

First introduced in 2001, the DREAM Act permits high school graduates who immigrated to the U.S. as minors and have lived in the U.S. for at least five years, to apply for legal status. This year, affiliates have been preparing for the re-introduction of the DREAM Act in the 109th Congress. The United We DREAM Campaign will unveil a diversified campaign including community education, community mobilization, youth action and advocacy.

KRC and NAKASEC march alongside security officers of SEIU Local 1877.

Erin Chung and Kevin Kang, youth coordinators for YKASEC, helped organize a conference announcing the Dream Campaign.

KRC in Los Angeles is gearing up to continue building its strong base of community members for the DREAM Act. Currently in the works is a DREAM forum in late April to engage youth and community allies.

Immigrant Voices Ring

Immigrant communities in Illinois and New York are exercising their right to be heard by their elected representatives.

On March 9, KRCC joined the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights in Springfield, Ill., to lobby representatives on several key immigrant rights issues. Among the issues raised were recent cuts totaling nearly a half-million dollars to Illinois’ various immigrant services and the rights of undocumented immigrants to obtain drivers’ licenses (which is currently under debate with the introduction of a state driver’s license bill).

YKASEC participated in the annual Immigrants’ Day in Albany on April 6. Organized by the New York Immigration Coalition, more than 10 Korean American community organizations and 50 Korean American community members attended.

Mobilizing Voters

For the 2005 Los Angeles primary elections, NAKASEC and KRC conducted phonebanking efforts to 2,600 Korean American voters to remind them to cast their ballots. NAKASEC and KRC also monitored polling precincts in Koreatown with a high number of Korean American voters. Sites were checked for compliance with federal voting rights such as the availability of multilingual materials and assistance.