WASHINGTON—Hours before the “Citizenship
for 11 Million” rally on April 10th, Asian Americans gathered together to call for changes to our country’s broken immigration system. Asian American immigrants shared stories and experiences and urged lawmakers to put forth policy solutions that will improve the lives of all Americans.
The National Council of Asian Pacific Americans (NCAPA), a coalition of
30 national Asian Pacific American organizations, organized the media briefing, which also featured members of the Congressional Asian Pacific
American Caucus, including Reps. Judy Chu, Mike Honda and Sen. Mazie K. Hirono.
“I am one of the over 1 million Asian Americans who is undocumented in this country,” said Kevin HyunKyu Lee, a 22-year-old undocumented immigrant (DREAMer) and immigrant rights organizer at the Korean Resource Center in Los Angeles. “I want legislators to know that DREAMERs like me want a chance to go to school, work, and give back to America, which is the only home we know.”
Filipino American Ian Cainglet, a teacher who came here under the H-1B visa program, detailed abuse he endured as a temporary worker. He and 350 other Filipino teachers had to pay more than $5 million to a fraudulent recruiter, who threatened to send them home. Last month, a federal judge gave Cainglet and other teachers a $4.5 million judgment in a class-action lawsuit filed by the American Federation of Teachers and the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Cainglet, who now lives in New Mexico, called for improved worker protections for all workers. “I wish for every worker in this country that same basic path to dignity and self respect,” he said.
The briefing also highlighted stories of family separation and detention.
Bithi Roy, a US citizen living
in New York City,
said she had waiting several years for her siblings in Bangladesh to join her in the U.S. In fact, 4.3 million people are stuck
in
the worldwide family backlog as of November 2012, and nearly half are relatives of Asian Americans.
“There are so many families who are experiencing extraordinarily long waiting times to bring
their families into this country,” she said. “Immigrants like myself have a better chance
of success
and giving back to the economy by developing their careers if they have family support networks in this country.”
Lundy Khoy, 32, a legal resident making her home in Washington, D.C., shared her concern about the possibility of being deported to Cambodia because of a drug possession conviction from her time in college. “America is my home and my country,” Khoy said. “We need immigration policies that put an end to such arbitrary detention and deportation measures. We all deserve to not live in fear.”
NCAPA has set forth a set of principles to guide immigration policy reform on issues ranging from enforcement to family reunification to worker rights to legalization.
“As these stories illustrate, Asian
Americans
are looking forward to inclusive
and fair immigration policies that will address many of the challenges that immigrants currently face. On this historic occasion, we stand together to raise our voices in support of immigration policy reform,” said
Deepa Iyer, chair of NCAPA and
executive director of South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT).
The National Council of Asian Pacific Americans (NCAPA), founded in 1996, is a coalition of thirty national Asian Pacific American organizations. Based in Washington D.C, NCAPA serves to represent the interests of the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AA & NHPI) community and to provide a national voice on policy issues and priorities.
Contact: Rachanee Srisavasdi,
(949) 892-0305;
rsrisavasdi@veng-group.com
Click HERE to watch the CSPAN coverage of the "National Rally for Citizenship" on the West Lawn of the Capitol. Various community leaders lobbied members of Congress for Immigration Reform.
Click HERE to watch the CSPAN coverage of the "National Rally for Citizenship" on the West Lawn of the Capitol. Various community leaders lobbied members of Congress for Immigration Reform.