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Issue: 816 Date: 4/13/2006
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OCA STRESSES FAMILY REUNIFICATION ELEMENT OF IMMIGRATION DEBATE
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| Thousands of demonstrators march through Oakland, Calif., Monday, April 10, 2006, as lawmakers in Washington deal with immigration reform pending before the Senate. (AP Photo/Noah Berger) |
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Washington, DC - OCA, a national Asian American social justice organization with over 80 chapters and affiliates, strongly feels that family reunification has been overlooked in the immigration debate.
"America's family-based immigration system is broken and needs to be reformed to allow for families who have been apart to be reunited in a timely manner," said OCA National President Ginny Gong. "Especially for the Asian American community, family reunification is a vital part of the comprehensive immigration reform solution. Right now, it simply takes too long, sometimes even more than a decade, for close relatives of U.S. citizens or permanent residents to obtain immigrant visas."
"As part of the New American Opportunity Coalition, OCA remains committed to comprehensive immigration reform," said OCA Executive Director Dorothy Wong. "Although we are seeing many of our Latino brothers and sisters in the news recently, we know that the U.S. is a nation of immigrants from many countries, and that the immigration system affects us all."
OCA supports comprehensive immigration reforms that include the following key elements:
* Reduces or eliminates the tremendous backlog in family immigration
* Provides a path to lawful permanent residence and for undocumented immigrants who are hard-working, who have paid or are willing to pay taxes, have learned or are willing to learn English and civics, and have undergone security checks;
* Creates legal and orderly processes for people who want to come to the United States to work, either temporarily or permanently in such a way that provides strong protections for both immigrant and US workers; and
* Provides more assistance to immigrants for learning English and preparing for citizenship.
Anything less will not and cannot work and is not true comprehensive immigration reform.For more information about events in your area, please visit www.cirnow.org
"Founded in 1973, OCA, a national organization with over 80 chapters and affiliates across the country, is dedicated to advancing the social, economic, and political well-being of Asian Pacific Americans in the United States."
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| A woman holds a placard as she marches across the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City as she takes part in a 'We Are America' immigration rights rally April 10, 2006. Thousands demonstrated in New York and around the U.S. Monday in support of immigration rights in a national mobilization to stop anti-immigration legislation from becoming law. REUTERS/Mike Segar Email Photo Print Photo |
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