City Advocacy Day For Immigrant Rights

 

On March 26, YKASEC, along with the New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC) and its affiliates, marched at city hall for NYIC’s 2008 City Advocacy Day. An estimated 1,200 community members gathered to support improved access to housing services, improved schools, restored funding for immigrant services, community job centers and access to health care.  YKASEC followed this event with legislative visits with Councilman John Liu and Deputy Mayor Dennis Walcott.

 

Preparing for Citizenship

 

On March 22, the Korean American Resource & Cultural Center (KRCC) held a seminar for 16 Korean Americans to prepare them for their citizenship interviews. Speakers included Valentine Obregon, community relations officer, and Mira Choi, immigration officer of the Chicago branch of the USCIS. 

 

A Mighty Movement

 

The Korean Resource Center (KRC), the 5.18 Memorial Foundation and NAKASEC is proud to present “The Movement of People: Building a New Agenda from Asia to the U.S.,” a symposium that will focus on the phenomenal rise of migrant workers spurred by globalization and to develop a common understand of migrant workers and advancing their rights. Featured speakers include representatives from the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, the Migrant Forum in Asia, the Korean Resource Center in Sydney, Australia, the General Board of Global Ministries of the United Methodist Church and local organizers. The day-long event will be held at the Korean Education Center in Los Angeles on May 31. For more information, visit www.krcla.org.

 

Employer Workshop

 

In collaboration with the Chicago Korean American Chamber of Commerce, KRCC held a workshop for more than 20 Korean American employers from the restaurant, retail/wholesale, dry cleaning and construction industries. Tim Bell from the Chicago Workers’ Collaborative explained what to do when employers receive no-match letters and how to prevent legal disputes regarding labor practices. 

 

Saved From The SAVE Act

 

On March 24, NAKASEC and its affiliates released a joint statement raising concerns on the Secure America Through Verification and Enforcement Act, also known as the SAVE Act. The SAVE Act would require employers to verify the work status of more than 160 million workers using a federal database that is known to have a high error rate, drive undocumented workers even further underground and promote an unregulated cash economy and tear families apart by spending more money into detention and deportation programs. On March 26, NAKASEC and other community groups successfully urged the Los Angeles City Council to pass a resolution opposing the SAVE Act.

 

Quick Updates

 

On April 5, Sookyung Oh of NAKASEC spoke on a panel titled “Voting Rights and Mobilization in the APA Community” at the 2008 Southern California Asian Pacific American Law Students Association conference. 

On April 6, Kyoung Ae Son, a restaurant worker and mother of a KRC volunteer, read a petition in Korean for farm workers at the mass in memory of Cesar Chavez, honoring Chavez’ legacy and commitment to the struggle for justice and dignity for all low-wage workers.