Clinic is the county’s largest citizenship event targeting Asian immigrants and the county’s first joint Korean collaboration for naturalization services.
BUENA PARK, CA – Yesterday, Asian Americans Advancing Justice - Orange County (Advancing Justice-OC) hosted the county’s largest Asian American citizenship clinic at The Source OC in Buena Park, California.
The citizenship event was produced in collaboration with every Korean community-serving organization in Orange County: Korean Community Services, Korean Resource Center, and Korean American Center. Together, volunteers and staff provided nearly 200 Korean American clients with free legal services.
“At a time when the rhetoric and policy around immigration is increasingly hostile at the national level, it is important for all qualified immigrants to naturalize,” says Sylvia Kim, regional director of Asian Americans Advancing Justice - Orange County. “U.S. citizenship protects immigrants from deportation, provides access to better jobs, and qualifies family members for immigration to the U.S.”
In light of growing anti-immigrant sentiment across the country, Advancing Justice-OC expanded its citizenship services in recent months to meet the increased demand for naturalization assistance. Orange County is home to an estimated 220,000 individuals who are eligible to naturalize but have yet to apply, and nearly 30% or 50,000 of them are of Asian descent.
“Naturalization is the best way to protect yourself and your rights,” says Andrew Ji, supervising attorney at Advancing Justice-OC. “We are seeing that the new administration is willing to target long-time green card holders -- no matter their ethnic background -- and we strongly advise any eligible immigrants to apply for citizenship.”
Orange County’s Korean American community is the second largest in the country and one of the fastest-growing. This citizenship clinic will provide culturally and linguistically-competent services for free.
To schedule an appointment for immigration or citizenship related services, please contact [email protected] or call Advancing Justice-OC's toll-free in-language helpline numbers:
Chinese: (800) 520-2356
Korean: (800) 867-3640
Tagalog: (855) 300-2552
Thai: (800) 914-9583
Vietnamese: (800) 267-7395
Khmer: (800) 867-3126
English: (888) 349-9695
Callers should leave a message if unable to speak directly to a community advocate. Calls are returned generally within one business day.
Orange County is home to an estimated 220,000 individuals who are eligible to naturalize but have yet to apply, and nearly 30% or 50,000 of them are of Asian descent.
Contact:
Jessica Jinn, (213) 241-8817, [email protected]
About Advancing Justice - LA:
Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Orange County (Advancing Justice-OC) is Advancing Justice-LA’s Orange County Regional office. Advancing Justice-OC is committed to building a coalition of diverse AANHPI community leaders, organizers, and advocates who can work with the organization to address unmet needs, civically engage AANHPI communities, and advocate for racial and economic justice.
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Sunday, July 30, 2017
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