— People of Asian descent comprise 5 percent of the nation’s
foreign-born population and 11 percent of all illegal immigrants. And
the massive visa backlogs that keep families separated for years —
sometimes decades — affect them more than any other single group.
Yet in the ongoing cry for immigration-policy
changes — including amnesty for the more than 11 million people in the
U.S. illegally — the Asian voice has been mostly lost.
The face of this nation’s immigration debate is decidedly Latino — not Asian.
Now, some Asian Pacific Islander groups want to draw
attention to immigration policies that affect them, and last week they
launched a campaign for change — the first of its kind in the country —
called “It’s our issue, too.”
Together with local and state politicians, they are asking members of Congress and President
It’s a call that comes late — long after members of
Congress already have left to campaign for November elections and in a
year when efforts to get any kind of debate on immigration sputtered
and failed.
pointed to a long history of Asians and Asian-Americans being
negatively affected by U.S. immigration laws. “We continue to feel the
pain and feel a moral urgency to pass legislation this year,” said
Narasaki, who is also executive director of Asian Counseling and
Referral Services.
“You wouldn’t necessarily know it from listening to the immigration debate, but this issue touches our community deeply.”
Narasaki said Asian-Americans and immigrants have
long had a strong voice in the call for new immigration policies but
may not have gotten the same attention as Latinos.
Of the estimated 11 million-plus undocumented
immigrants in this country, about 1.2 million are of Asian descent. One
in five Koreans in this country is here illegally.
According to U.S. State Department numbers, more
than 1.5 million relatives of Asian and Asian-Americans are waiting for
family-based green cards to reunite them with relatives in
Among them are Filipino-American World War II veterans. For them, the
wait has been so long that many have died waiting to have their
families join them in this country.
Narasaki presented to a staffer from Sen.
At a news conference Thursday, undocumented Asian
immigrants appeared on a video in silhouette, their identities veiled,
to speak about living in the shadows.
appeared in person to speak about the five years he spent in the
Washington Army National Guard, only to leave broken, after back
injuries from training exercises left him in a wheelchair.
Chaudhry, who was honorably discharged, says he
disclosed on his citizenship application in 2004 that he had pleaded
guilty 15 years before in
But the government said Chaudhry did not disclose that, and cited a lack of good moral character in denying him citizenship.
Now, he’s fighting deportation.
With his U.S.-born wife,
“As you can see I have truly given my body and my
heart to America,” he said. “It’s hard for me to understand how a
country I love and respect so much does not show me the same respect.”
Immigration change should be everybody’s concern, said
The expulsion of 600 Chinese residents from the city of
On
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