ThoughtGallery.org > MOCACITIZEN: DACA Was Not Rescinded, Now What?

MOCACITIZEN: DACA Was Not Rescinded, Now What?

On the final day of FOLD: Golden Venture Paper Sculptures, join us for a conversation about the DACA program and its reception in Asian American communities through the experiences of young organizers and activists.

The Obama administration created the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program through an executive action in June 2012. DACA granted qualified recipients, known as Dreamers, a renewable two-year period of deferred action from deportation and be eligible for a work permit. Today, there are approximately 800,000 recipients who came to the US as children enrolled in the program.

In September 2017, President Trump stated he would rescind the DACA program on March 5, 2018. A Supreme Court ruling delayed the end date, but there has been no conclusive action from the federal executive or legislative branch.

As the fate of the program remains uncertain, what can be done within Asian American immigrant communities to emphasize the importance and benefit of this program? How can we gain a deeper understanding as to why Asian American Dreamers have the lowest enrollment rates by eligible undocumented youth?

Our panel will discuss their personal experiences raising awareness of the program within their families and communities, as well as what it means to be an outspoken Asian American within the broader US immigrant rights movement.

Panelist Bios

Stephanie Ji Won Park
Stephanie Ji Won Park immigrated to the United States from South Korea with her family at the age of five. Growing up in New York City, she attended the Horace Mann School and received a degree in English Literature, History, and Media Studies from the Macaulay Honors College at Hunter College.
Stemming from her own experiences as an undocumented DACA recipient, Stephanie works as a Community Organizer to empower other undocumented, Asian American youth through educational workshops, Know Your Rights clinics, and direct action.
Prior to her current role as a Community Organizer at Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF), Stephanie served the Korean American immigrant community by providing free legal services as an Immigrant Justice Corps Community Fellow and Board of Immigrant Appeals Accredited Representative at the MinKwon Center for Community Action.
Stephanie is a founder and active member of the MinKwon Center’s Asian American Dreamer Coalition (AADC), where she helped to develop its mission statement and guiding principles. She is also the Secretary of the Board of Directors at United We Dream (UWD).

Ivy Teng Lei
Ivy grew up in Manhattan’s Chinatown and graduated from Baruch College, CUNY. She is currently the Account Strategy Director at a tech marketing start-up, and has worked with over a dozen Fortune 500 companies restructuring brand strategies. Her professional experience has lent her unique perspectives in her other life as an undocumented immigrant and education activist. She was a 2013 DREAM Fellow at the New York Immigration Coalition, and has recently joined the Coro Leadership’s Alumni Network as part of this year’s Immigrant Civic Leadership Program (ICLP) graduating class.
Most recently, Ivy helped lead the creation of New York’s Asian American Pacific Islander Chamber of Commerce and Entrepreneurship. She was elected as the Chair of Asian American Federation’s Professional Leadership Council, and chaired a statewide campaign on college affordability with 30 other coalition members. In 2016, Ivy founded a company dedicated to bridging the gap between multicultural and mainstream marketing strategies for public and private sectors and non-for-profits and is currently working to formalize a not-for-profit that provides scholarship opportunities for students in need regardless of immigration status.

Karen Kithan Yau
Karen Kithan Yau, Esq. is the Director of Membership and Capacity Building at the NYIC and is responsible for overseeing membership services and capacity building efforts that strengthen and sustain our member organizations. Karen has over two decades of experience working with immigrants, workers, and other poor and working people. Karen began her career as a community organizer for MFY Legal Services. Karen became a long-time workers’ rights lawyer, serving as an Assistant Attorney General at the Labor Bureau at the State Attorney General. She led investigations into labor violations in the agricultural, greengrocer, moving, restaurant, taxi, and other industries. She was also the recipient of a Skadden Fellowship at the National Employment Law Project and a Robert M. Cover Teaching Fellowship at Yale Law School, and held an assistant professorship at Syracuse University College of Law. In addition, Karen served as the Executive Director of the Coalition for Asian American Children and Families, a pan-Asian advocacy organization. Karen currently mediates disputes, facilitates small group discussions, and teaches as an adjunct college professor. Karen is active in community organizations and bar associations.

Karen received a J.D. from Northeastern University School of Law and a B.A. from Stony Brook University. She emigrated from Hong Kong.

Tickets: Free with advance online registration. Click here to register.
At the Door: $10/adult; $5/student, educator, & senior; free for MOCA Members.











When: Sun., Mar. 25, 2018 at 2:30 pm - 4:00 pm
Where: Museum of Chinese in America
215 Centre St.
212-619-4785
Price: $10 (free with advanced registration)
Buy tickets/get more info now
See other events in these categories:

On the final day of FOLD: Golden Venture Paper Sculptures, join us for a conversation about the DACA program and its reception in Asian American communities through the experiences of young organizers and activists.

The Obama administration created the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program through an executive action in June 2012. DACA granted qualified recipients, known as Dreamers, a renewable two-year period of deferred action from deportation and be eligible for a work permit. Today, there are approximately 800,000 recipients who came to the US as children enrolled in the program.

In September 2017, President Trump stated he would rescind the DACA program on March 5, 2018. A Supreme Court ruling delayed the end date, but there has been no conclusive action from the federal executive or legislative branch.

As the fate of the program remains uncertain, what can be done within Asian American immigrant communities to emphasize the importance and benefit of this program? How can we gain a deeper understanding as to why Asian American Dreamers have the lowest enrollment rates by eligible undocumented youth?

Our panel will discuss their personal experiences raising awareness of the program within their families and communities, as well as what it means to be an outspoken Asian American within the broader US immigrant rights movement.

Panelist Bios

Stephanie Ji Won Park
Stephanie Ji Won Park immigrated to the United States from South Korea with her family at the age of five. Growing up in New York City, she attended the Horace Mann School and received a degree in English Literature, History, and Media Studies from the Macaulay Honors College at Hunter College.
Stemming from her own experiences as an undocumented DACA recipient, Stephanie works as a Community Organizer to empower other undocumented, Asian American youth through educational workshops, Know Your Rights clinics, and direct action.
Prior to her current role as a Community Organizer at Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF), Stephanie served the Korean American immigrant community by providing free legal services as an Immigrant Justice Corps Community Fellow and Board of Immigrant Appeals Accredited Representative at the MinKwon Center for Community Action.
Stephanie is a founder and active member of the MinKwon Center’s Asian American Dreamer Coalition (AADC), where she helped to develop its mission statement and guiding principles. She is also the Secretary of the Board of Directors at United We Dream (UWD).

Ivy Teng Lei
Ivy grew up in Manhattan’s Chinatown and graduated from Baruch College, CUNY. She is currently the Account Strategy Director at a tech marketing start-up, and has worked with over a dozen Fortune 500 companies restructuring brand strategies. Her professional experience has lent her unique perspectives in her other life as an undocumented immigrant and education activist. She was a 2013 DREAM Fellow at the New York Immigration Coalition, and has recently joined the Coro Leadership’s Alumni Network as part of this year’s Immigrant Civic Leadership Program (ICLP) graduating class.
Most recently, Ivy helped lead the creation of New York’s Asian American Pacific Islander Chamber of Commerce and Entrepreneurship. She was elected as the Chair of Asian American Federation’s Professional Leadership Council, and chaired a statewide campaign on college affordability with 30 other coalition members. In 2016, Ivy founded a company dedicated to bridging the gap between multicultural and mainstream marketing strategies for public and private sectors and non-for-profits and is currently working to formalize a not-for-profit that provides scholarship opportunities for students in need regardless of immigration status.

Karen Kithan Yau
Karen Kithan Yau, Esq. is the Director of Membership and Capacity Building at the NYIC and is responsible for overseeing membership services and capacity building efforts that strengthen and sustain our member organizations. Karen has over two decades of experience working with immigrants, workers, and other poor and working people. Karen began her career as a community organizer for MFY Legal Services. Karen became a long-time workers’ rights lawyer, serving as an Assistant Attorney General at the Labor Bureau at the State Attorney General. She led investigations into labor violations in the agricultural, greengrocer, moving, restaurant, taxi, and other industries. She was also the recipient of a Skadden Fellowship at the National Employment Law Project and a Robert M. Cover Teaching Fellowship at Yale Law School, and held an assistant professorship at Syracuse University College of Law. In addition, Karen served as the Executive Director of the Coalition for Asian American Children and Families, a pan-Asian advocacy organization. Karen currently mediates disputes, facilitates small group discussions, and teaches as an adjunct college professor. Karen is active in community organizations and bar associations.

Karen received a J.D. from Northeastern University School of Law and a B.A. from Stony Brook University. She emigrated from Hong Kong.

Tickets: Free with advance online registration. Click here to register.
At the Door: $10/adult; $5/student, educator, & senior; free for MOCA Members.

Buy tickets/get more info now