NAKASEC’s Chicago affiliate, KRCC, proudly presents FYSH CIR Spoken Word Campaign. We’re so proud of you. Immigration Reform Now!!!!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZXmeecqgoc&w=640&h=480]
Click here to learn more: FYSH CIR Spoken Word Campaign
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We are just two days away from our mobilization DC. To support our participants, families across the country have sent in letters to share their stories and thoughts on why we need to pass comprehensive immigration reform this year.
Letters came from families, children, citizens and voters from Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington and West Virginia.
What you can do:
David Han, 18 Years Old, HS Senior, Koreatown, Los Angeles
I am an immigrant myself, and I want immigration reform passed this year. I just want to help be a voice for other immigrants who are afraid to voice themselves because of their status and who are scared. I was one of those people, but now I can let my story out and be an inspiration to others.
Right now, I am undocumented and do not have citizenship, so there is not much for me to do. If immigration reform passes, I can be part of society, a Korean-American citizen, I can get the same benefits as my peers and I won’t be pushed aside from society as an alien, afraid all the time.
This will be my first time in Washington, DC. I believe that kids and teens can make a difference. We are the future, and we can influence others by telling our stories. I would like to tell members of Congress my immigration story and how immigration affects me. I would like to try to convince them and change their hearts to approve of immigration reform.
Hello, my name is Randy Kim, and I was the first one born in America on both sides of my family. My dad’s family was from Vietnam but are Cambodian, and my mom’s side of the family are Vietnamese. Both families had come to the United States as refugees from the Vietnam War and the Cambodian genocide in the early 80s.
My father was one of 5 siblings. My father’s mother had died when my father was less than 4 years old. As a result, my grandfather could not care for the family. My father and his oldest brother Tunh were sent to live with their uncle in Cambodia. The rest of the family stayed behind with their father. As my dad and my Uncle Tunh were in their 20s, the Cambodian Killing Field era began. Their uncle was later killed. My dad and uncle escaped into Thailand and migrated to the US.
Eventually, both of them would help sponsor my Uncle Sean. However, only my aunt who’s the oldest in the family, and my uncle “Boo” who was the youngest remained behind in Vietnam. My Uncle Sean, also a US citizen, tried to sponsor them for the last 20+ years, but after years of wasted money, endless run around, and no answer, my uncle’s wish never came true.
Last November, I found out that Boo, my youngest uncle died of cancer. Many of my family members, especially those that were born in the US after me had never seen him, and the rest of my family in Vietnam. To them, they should be family, but instead, they are strangers to one another. My aunt still remains, but is also getting older. I look at family albums, and there was not one picture where all of my father’s siblings are together. I always wondered what my family would have been like had all of the siblings reunited, how many memories could have been created? How much my life and my family’s life would be impacted by their presence? It’s the answer that my family and I will never be able to find out.
I’ve seen too many families waiting for an answer that will never arrive, and I sincerely hope that all of our families will never be forced to wait years before they can be together again. Our families deserve to have a photo of their loved ones together in their photo album, to be there in time of need, and to not be strangers to one another.
Life was too difficult for So Young to care for two young children and work full time. So Young made the painful decision to send her children to me and my wife. Since 2008, my wife and I have been our two grandchildren, Hyeon Jin and Heon Seo’s guardians. I love my grandchildren, and they bring so much joy in my life, however, they miss their mother.
I petitioned for my daughter in 2008, but her petition is still pending.
It makes me sad to know that my children will not have a father, but now, they don’t even have a mother. I urge legislators to remember the importance of family and to reduce the backlogs. Also to remember to reform immigration to include a pathway to citizenship.
Thank you.