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April
3, 2003 |
Korean
American Coalition San Francisco Bay Area Chapter
Execution
Plan: INS Green Card Project
- Summary Overview-
On
Jan. 7, 2003, the San Jose Mercury News first reported
that 275 Korean immigrants, some who have lived in the
U.S. for more than 15 years, faced immediate deportation
on charges of obtaining fake green cards. It was considered
one of the largest green-card fraud schemes in recent
Bay Area history.
Leland
Dwayne Sustaire, a longtime San Jose INS supervisor,
accepted at least $500,000 in bribes from John C. Choe,
an immigration consultant, his wife Cherie, his sister-in-law
Song Ja Byun and Daniel Lee, who owned a San Jose immigration
consulting firm, over 12 years in exchange for green
cards he authorized, according to the Mercury News.
Santa
Clara attorney Alex Park, who represents 95 of the victims,
said many of them are successful professionals who insist
they did not know the green cards were fraudulently
issued but are being penalized by the government for
the corruption of one if its own employees.
Most
of them entered the country legally and established
successful lives in the Bay Area. In interviews with
the Mercury News, some of the immigrants said they trusted
the Choes and Byun because they considered them upstanding
members of the church they attended, Young Kwang Presbyterian
Church in Cupertino, which is now defunct.
The
criminals were given minor punishments for their actions.
Sustaire avoided jail time by testifying in 1999 against
the consultants who bribed him. He received five years'
probation and a fine. The four brokers, all from the
Bay Area, are out of prison after serving anywhere from
four months to three years behind bars. The green card
scam victims face a much bleaker future. One immigrant
was deported last year and at least two dozen have received
deportation notices, according to the Los Angeles Times.
U.S.
Reps. Mike Honda (D) and Zoe Lofgren (D) of San Jose
have intervened on behalf of these victims and asked
U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft on Jan. 22, 2003,
to suspend deportation proceedings. "We are not asking
for blanket amnesty for these individuals; rather, we
ask you to use your discretionary power to assure a
fair process of review for each of the 275 cases reportedly
involved with this scheme," Honda and Lofgren wrote.
State
Assemblyman Manny Diaz, D-San Jose, and Assemblywoman
Carol Liu, D-Los Angeles, co-wrote a resolution on Feb.
3, 2003 (Assembly Joint Resolution No. 6), asking the
INS to conduct a "fair process" regarding these immigrants.
"This corruption at the INS could devastate the lives
of hundreds of families if we do not intervene immediately,"
Diaz said.
In
recent weeks, the INS appears to have stepped up efforts
to round up the immigrants. Park said the INS has recently
hired six agents to work on the cases. He also said
at least 15 of his clients have received phone calls
or letters from INS investigators, asking the immigrants
to show up for interviews "regarding the status of their
green cards." INS officials have demanded that the immigrants
prove their innocence by providing personal documents,
many of which were burned by Sustaire. "The INS is moving
fast," Park said.
"The
INS is going after these people actively."
-
Scope of the Issue -
Although
KACSF and KAC-SAC have worked diligently at the local
level, supporting Assembly Joint Resolution 6 (AJR 6),
this issue has a broader national scope. Not only does
it involve federal government agencies, including the
Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which now oversees
U.S. immigration matters, but obtaining any sort of
relief for these Korean immigrants is likely to require
Congressional action of some kind. Thus, while the support
of local and state government is important, ultimately,
it is the federal government that must make the decision
to grant or deny relief.
The United States House and Senate offices need to be
engaged along with DHS and Tom Ridge, who heads this
agency. It is critical to put pressure on members of
the House and Senate to support some type of temporary
amnesty or other relief. At the very least, elected
officials need to be made aware of this concern and
what they can do. Therefore, KACSF recommends targeting
all Congresspersons, Democrat and Republican, especially
those representing areas with heavy Korean and minority
populations. KACSF also recommends emphasizing that
this is a non-partisan issue.
In
the meantime on the state level, by helping to ensure
that AJR 6 passes the California State Legislature,
KAC not only contributes to the success of on-going
efforts, but KAC can also gain a track record on this
issue and some measure of prominence and credibility
in launching any national initiative aimed at urging
the Federal Government to provide relief for the Korean
victims.
-
Current Developments (as of 3/31/03) -
State
Initiatives - Status of AJR 6:
-
California Assembly members Manny Diaz (D- San Jose)
and Carol Liu (D-San Jose) are sponsoring AJR 6 urging
US Attorney General Ashcroft to stop the proceedings
of deportation until a thorough "case by case" review
is conducted to determine whether there was fraud
committed on the part of the immigrants. AJR 6 further
urges Attorney General Ashcroft and Secretary of Homeland
Security, Tom Ridge to implement a measure to better
police agents within the INS as this division moves
into the Department of Homeland Security.
-
The State Assembly debated AJR 6 on Monday, March
10, 2003. AJR 6 successfully passed 79-0 in the Assembly.
The total number of coauthors/sponsors of AJR 6 is
now 75.
-
The resolution goes before the Senate Judiciary committee
sometime in April 2003. The hearing date has not yet
been set.
Congressional
updates from Rep. Mike Honda's Office:
- KACSF
recently received an update from Bob Sakaniwa with
Mike Honda's office in D.C. Since issuing the joint
Honda/Lofgren January 22, 2003 letter to U.S. Attorney
John Ashcroft in support of case-by-case fair review,
Rep. Honda's office has attempted to follow-up with
Tom Ridge, head of the Department of Homeland Security,
who is now responsible for overseeing immigration
matters. Currently, there are no plans to introduce
any resolutions on a federal level and Honda's office
is waiting for a response from Tom Ridge before taking
any further action.
- Honda's
office recommends KAC and its Chapters send in letters
to our local Congressional Representatives, similar
to that of Mike Honda and Zoe Lofgren, urging the
Department of Homeland Security to adopt fair process.
Letters are a critical way to make this issue known
on a broader scale.
Legal
Updates
According to Bob Sakaniwa, Alex Park and the ACLU of
San Francisco are considering filing for relief in federal
district court. Under current U.S. immigration law and
policy, the Koreans immigrants charged with green card
fraud have very little chance of remaining in the States
once deportation proceedings begin. Absent Congressional
or perhaps federal court intervention, the most lawyers
for these immigrants can do is to delay immigration
proceedings for as long as possible so that other relief
can be found.
-
KAC Action to Date -
-
KACSF, working closely with KAC SAC, has taken the
lead in identifying the INS greencard scandal as an
issue of concern for the Korean American community
and the need to get involved.
-
KAC sent out an official Statement of Support to all
members of the California State Assembly in support
of AJR 6 when AJR 6 was addressed on the Assembly
Floor on March 10, 2003.
-
KACSF is coordinating the response and discussion
among KAC chapters and established ties with Assembly
Representative Manny Diaz's office.
-
KACSF sent a letter to Assembly Member Diaz expressing
our support of AJR 6 and thanking Diaz for support
of the Korean community.
-
KACSF and the Korean American Bar Association of Northern
California (KABANC) issued a joint press release to
raise awareness
-
KACSF drafted testimony to be used by KAC-SAC in sending
a representative to testify or present KAC's position
at a future CA Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing
· KACSF drafted the National KAC Statement of Support
in favor of AJR 6, which was released for distribution
by KAC chapters in CA on Friday, March 7, 2003
-
KACSF and KAC Sacramento led a letter and fax campaign
to State reps in support of AJR 6
-
Execution Plan for KACSF and KAC Chapters-
Goals
and Objectives
-
Successfully convince Tom Ridge and the Department
of Homeland Security to suspend pending deportation
proceedings until a thorough case by case review is
conducted to determine whether there was fraud committed
on the part of each of the immigrations under investigation
-
Raise the local and national profile of KAC and Korean
American issues
-
Increase awareness and prevent deportation of innocent
Korean immigrants impacted by the INS scandal
-
Increase KACSF and KAC Chapters' capacity to coordinate
and initiate action and respond timely and efficiently
to urgent issues and crisis situations
-
Keep the plight of the Korean immigrants facing deportation
on local and national agendas, including that of Congress
and elected officials.
Additional
Steps KACSF Needs to Take
-
Post on KACSF website update on AJR 6/State initiatives
and Honda/Lofgren's Congressional initiatives to support
fair process and suspension of deportation for 276
Koreans and families.
-
Complete and distribute, including post on KACSF website,
sample letter(s) of support for KAC members to use
in writing their State Senators and Congressional
Representatives and Senators
- Contact
Bay Area Korean American organizations to coordinate
the project at the local level
-
Consider doing a follow-up press conference, including
a joint press conference with Manny Diaz.
Recommendations
for KAC National Board
- ·
Create Californian KAC Political Project team, led
by KAC S.F. and Sacramento chapters
- ·
Gather support from other Korean American and pan-Asian
American organizations · Identify and lobby State
representatives who have an unclear position on the
issue ·
- Consider
gaining support of Gov. Davis
- ·
Coordinate wider national campaign in support of fair
process for Korean immigrants
- ·
Support Honda and Lofgren's initiatives, as well as
other Congressional action - send in Statement(s)
of Support similar to that for AJR 6
- ·
Send letters urging relief addressed to Tom Ridge
and the Dept. of Homeland Security
- ·
Issue updated press releases
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