September 11 Digital Archive

Give us a chance to make our American DREAM come true in America, students tell lawmakers at press c

Title

Give us a chance to make our American DREAM come true in America, students tell lawmakers at press c

Source

born-digital

Media Type

article

Original Name

Fifteen Korean students lobbied Washington lawmakers to pass the DREAM Acta law that would encourage

Created by Author

yes

Described by Author

no

Date Entered

2002-07-19

VTMBH Article: Edition

28

VTMBH Article: Article Order

4

VTMBH Article: Title

Give us a chance to make our American DREAM come true in America, students tell lawmakers at press conference

VTMBH Article: Author

VTMBH Article: Publication

Korea Times New York

VTMBH Article: Original Language

Korean

VTMBH Article: Translator

Jeongwoo Han

VTMBH Article: Section

news

VTMBH Article: Blurb

Fifteen Korean students lobbied Washington lawmakers to pass the DREAM Acta law that would encourage states to grant undocumented immigrant students in-state tuition and provide an opportunity for some undocumented students to obtain legal status.

VTMBH Article: Keywords

VTMBH Article: Body

Fifteen Korean students from New York lobbied Washington lawmakers to pass a law pardoning students who illegally overstay their visas

Several immigrant rights groups, including the National Association of Korean-American Service for Education Council (NAKASEC), held a press conference in Washington D.C. on July 17 and announced their plans to begin actively lobbying Congress to pass The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act, which would encourage states to grant undocumented immigration students in-state tuition and provide an opportunity for some undocumented students to obtain legal status.

In the press conference held in front of the Capitol, Chicago resident Yoon-hi Yim represented Korean students as she called for the passage of the DREAM Act. In America, the so-called country of opportunity, it is frustrating to be an illegal resident. We are forced to overstay our visas because of our parents undocumented status, so we cannot get financial support or loans for college. And she also demanded that lawmakers help us make our dreams come true and contribute to America.

Min, a student at Flushing High School, said that soon, Im going to graduate high school and go on to college, but I find that many of my seniors and peers have a lot of trouble getting into college because of financial reasons. I think its unfair to us, when we have done nothing wrong, that our future is put under such constraints. That is why I have decided to lobby for this law.

NAKASEC President Sung-kyu Yun said that at the moment, the bill will allow undocumented students to apply for permanent residency has been brought before both the Houses and the Senate. But the Senate version is both more likely to pass and more beneficial.

Senator Edward Kennedy will participate in the meeting and encourage his colleagues to support it. He will announce his support of the bill. Also I hope the DREAM Act will give them a dream, as its name means.

After the press conference, around forty Korean-American students from several Korean-American Associations such as the Korean Resource Center (Los Angeles), Korean American Resource and Cultural Center (Chicago) and the Young Korean American Service and Education Center (New York) planned to lobby Congress members in groups.

Around 200 minority students and people working in education attended the press conference.

VTMBH Article: Line Breaks

1

VTMBH Article: Date

2002-07-19

VTMBH Article: Thumb

VTMBH Article: Article File

VTMBH Article: Hit Count

109

Citation

“Give us a chance to make our American DREAM come true in America, students tell lawmakers at press c,” September 11 Digital Archive, accessed November 14, 2024, https://911digitalarchive.org/items/show/1601.