7/30/2019 2013 04 10 NCAPA April 10 Immigrant Rights Press Conf. Media Advisory UPDATE

1/2

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEApril 10, 2013

Contact: Rachanee Srisavasdi,(949) 892-0305;

rsrisavasdi@veng-group.com

Asian Americans, legislators call for immigration policy reformImmigrants share stories of being undocumented, separation, detention and abuse

WASHINGTONHours before the Citizenship for 11 Million rally on April 10

th

, AsianAmericans gathered together to call for changes to our countrys broken immigration system.Asian American immigrants shared stories and experiences and urged lawmakers to put forthpolicy solutions that will improve the lives of all Americans.

The National Council of Asian Pacific Americans (NCAPA), a coalition of 30 national AsianPacific American organizations, organized the media briefing, which also featured members ofthe Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, including Reps. Judy Chu, Mike Honda andSen. Mazie K. Hirono.

I am one of the over 1 million Asian Americans who is undocumented in this country, saidKevin HyunKyu Lee, a22-year-old undocumented immigrant (DREAMer) and immigrant rights

organizer at the Korean Resource Center in Los Angeles. I want legislators to know thatDREAMERs like me want a chance to go to school, work, and give back to America, which isthe only home we know.

Filipino American Ian Cainglet, a teacher who came here under the H-1B visa program, detailedabuse he endured as a temporary worker. He and 350 other Filipino teachers had to pay morethan $5 million to a fraudulent recruiter, who threatened to send them home. Last month, afederal judge gave Cainglet and other teachers a $4.5 million judgment in a class-action lawsuitfiled 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. Iwish 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 hersiblings in Bangladesh to join her in the U.S. In fact, 4.3 million people are stuck in theworldwide family backlog as of November 2012, and nearly half are relatives of AsianAmericans.

There are so many families who are experiencing extraordinarily long waiting times to bring

7/30/2019 2013 04 10 NCAPA April 10 Immigrant Rights Press Conf. Media Advisory UPDATE

2/2

their families into this country, she said. Immigrants like myself have a better chance ofsuccess and giving back to the economy by developing their careers if they have family supportnetworks in this country.

Lundy Khoy, 32, a legal resident making her home in Washington, D.C., shared her concernabout 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 needimmigration policies that put an end to such arbitrary detention and deportation measures. Weall deserve to not live in fear.

NCAPA has set forth a set of principles to guide immigration policy reform on issues rangingfrom enforcement to family reunification to worker rights to legalization.

As these stories illustrate, Asian Americans are looking forward to inclusive and fairimmigration policies that will address many of the challenges that immigrants currently face. Onthis historic occasion, we stand together to raise our voices in support of immigration policyreform, said Deepa Iyer, chair of NCAPA and executive director of South Asian AmericansLeading Together (SAALT).

The National Council of Asian Pacific Americans (NCAPA), founded in 1996, is a coalition ofthirty national Asian Pacific American organizations. Based in Washington D.C, NCAPA servesto 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.