Why NAKASEC Champions Citizenship for All

The National Korean American Service and Education Consortium (NAKASEC) is a grassroots organization dedicated to achieving social, economic and racial justice for both Korean and all Asian-Americans.

Founded in 1994, NAKASEC has been advocating for immigrant rights and promoting civic engagement through community organizing, advocacy and education. We sat down with this important group to learn more about the work that they do, along with the challenges and successes seen in the Asian American community in the past year. NAKASEC’s Communication Manager, Rachel Koelzer, helped educate and illuminate those of us outside of this community and this work.

What kind of work does NAKASEC do?

NAKASEC is a national network of five affiliates across six U.S. states. Affiliates advocate at state and local levels to provide direct social and community services. This local power coalesces to advocate for policies and legislation at the federal level. Such campaigns include a pathway to citizenship for all 11 million undocumented immigrants, along with citizenship for all intercountry adoptees through NAKASEC’s project, Adoptees For Justice.

Where does the Asian American community currently stand?

In recent years, there has been a surge in physical and socio-political violence against Asian Americans, along with other immigrants, as they continue to be scapegoats and targets of racism and xenophobia. They continue to face systemic discrimination and inequality in areas such as education, employment and healthcare. As the fastest-growing demographic in the United States, they are also now being targeted and weaponized against democracy. White nationalists stoke fear, division and bigotry through their use of harmful stereotypes, along with mis- and disinformation, to divide them from other marginalized groups. It is within this context that NAKASEC continues to organize Asian Americans and immigrants for a future that allows every person—including immigrants—to live safely, fully and freely.

Immigrant rights are human rights

One of NAKASEC’s cornerstone initiatives is immigrant justice. Immigrants without citizenship face substantial oppression due to the systemic and structural denial of their basic human rights. NAKASEC believes that when the rights of the most vulnerable and marginalized are upheld, the rights of every person are strengthened. For years, NAKASEC has fought for a pathway to citizenship for all 11 million undocumented immigrants. It is estimated that one in seven Asian immigrants is undocumented. In 2018, they created and popularized the term #CitizenshipForAll, which has become a rallying cry for the immigrant justice movement. Through storytelling, education and community building, NAKASEC has shifted narratives within the Korean community—reducing shame and fear, and encouraging Korean and Asian Americans to expand their understandings of citizenship and belonging.

NAKASEC’s vision for an inclusive, expansive, safe and joyful future

While focused on passing legislation that will offer vital legal protections and rights, NAKASEC firmly believes citizenship goes beyond a piece of paper and legal status. Full citizenship includes the safety, freedom, resources and basic human rights that every person—undocumented and citizen alike—should be afforded.

That’s why NAKASEC works in coalitions at the intersections of race, gender and sexuality, class, and immigration status to end the deportations and detention of immigrants, advocate for policies that keep families together, and fight to address police brutality and violence against Asians. They work to build solidarity and understanding with other marginalized groups, including educating their communities on their historic and present shared struggles.

Their affiliates have made critical strides in immigrant rights in their respective states. Like Woori Juntos in Texas, which just introduced a bill that would expand language access across the state. Or Woori Center, in Pennsylvania, which advanced legislation that would allow undocumented immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses, improving their abilities to work and support their families. MinKwon Center in New York is currently fighting the creation of a casino that would harm their community. And HANA Center in Illinois passed the nation’s first legislation that requires Asian American history to be taught in K-12 education. Finally, Hamkae Center in Virginia has protected Asian American history in their K-12 curriculum.

How you can support NAKASEC’s efforts

Asian Americans are often made invisible: positioned as closer to whiteness and simultaneously seen as perpetually “foreign”. These seemingly contradictory concepts intersect and create steeper uphill battles in having their communities’ needs and issues seen—let alone addressed and resolved. Even the term Asian American is broad, encompassing over 20 countries of origin. Ethnic groups within this umbrella term face widely disparate experiences, and the term “Asian American” can itself encourage erasure of these different issues, solutions and needs.

Despite these challenges, Asian Americans are actively speaking out and organizing for change. We encourage you to learn more about Asian American and immigrant history, listen to Asian Americans and undocumented immigrants, and join them in the fight for social justice. In ensuring that the most marginalized and invisibilized are safe and free, we can better advance the rights and protections of every person in this country and world.

Connect with NAKASEC to ensure this continued education. They can be found on Instagram and Twitter as @nakasec. As well as @adoptees4justice on Instagram and @adoptees4Just on Twitter. You can follow them on Facebook at facebook.com/nakasec and facebook.com/adoptees4justice. And subscribe to their newsletter here.