Fall 2006 Edition
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FALL 2006 OAsian u Ametlookrican Legal Defense and Education Fund Page 2 PUTTING HUMAN RIGHTS AND WORKERS ’ R IGHTS Jewelry Factory Worker Awarded $70,000 in Back Wages • FIRST IN THE IMMIGRATION DEBATE Teenage Labor Trafficking Survivor Approved for T Visa After millions of immigrants and status from within the U.S. supporters marched in cities and towns this The Senate recently passed an immi- Page 4 spring calling for a fair, sensible approach to gration bill (known as “Hagel-Martinez”) AALDEF Releases Groundbreaking immigration reform, lawmakers in the that would only worsen the rifts in the U.S. Report on Low-Wage Korean Workers Senate promised to take the high road in labor market created by the nation’s last their deliberations. major immigration bill— Pages 5-7 Immigrant rights took the 1986 Immigration Ivan Fong, Katrina vanden Heuvel, center stage as Reform and Control Act. and Charles Ogletree Receive 2006 communities nationwide IRCA established Justice in Action Awards declared a new civil “employer sanctions,” rights movement. But as the policy that effective- Page 9 the debate made ly divided the U.S. work- AALDEF Files Voting Rights Lawsuit To proposals increasingly force in two: Protect Language Minority Voters in punitive, AALDEF documented workers NYC urged lawmakers to above ground, and honor basic human undocumented workers Page 10 rights principles in any underground. Lowell Teachers Ordered Reinstated plan to overhaul the Last December, the after Unconstitutional Dismissal immigration system. House passed the “This year, we have draconian bill H.R. Page 11 yet to see an immi- 4437, which would Residents and Workers Affected by gration proposal that criminalize un- Toxic 9.11 Fallout Demand Federal recognizes and fixes the documented immigrants L More than 120,000 immigrants rallied along Broadway in New York Action • AALDEF Joins Amicus Brief errors of past policies,” based on their status for City on April 10, one of a series of national actions demanding fair and Challenging NSA Wiretapping said AALDEF program just immigration reform directed at lawmakers in Congress. (Photo by the first time in history. director Stan Mark. Ken Lee) When the Senate took “Instead, as we suspected, the political up immigration reform, AALDEF warned climate of the debate made immigration lawmakers and advocates that an enforce- reform a Trojan horse for anti-immigrant ment-heavy approach would only undercut and undemocratic measures.” any adjustment of status programs for immi- AALDEF partnered with groups grants. 2005 Census figures estimate that including the national Break the Chains Asian immigrants now make up about 13% Alliance, Immigrant Communities in Action, of undocumented immigrants nationwide. L Nation editor Katrina vanden Heuvel and actor and United for Peace & Justice to hold public AALDEF joined nationwide marches on Kal Penn join forces for an inspiring evening. Details on p. 5. (Photo by Lia Chang) speak-outs and briefings educating the public April 1, April 10, April 24, and May 1 that about the Senate immigration bill, which declared: “Legalize, Don’t Criminalize,” “No carried provisions for punitive enforcement, Guestworker Programs!” and “Today We detention, and deportation policies along March, Tomorrow We Vote.” AALDEF also with guestworker plans that would permit worked with multi-ethnic coalitions to draft only a fraction of the country’s 12 million a statement of ten principles circulated undocumented immigrants to adjust their Continued on Page 3 Asian American Communities Jury Awards JEWELRY FACTORY WORKER AWARDED $226,000 to Domestic Worker $70,000 IN BACK WAGES In June 2006, a domestic In December, a Manhattan federal Yang received only a fixed amount each worker from Nepal who judge awarded Doo Nam Yang, 50, a week—usually in cash—no matter how worked five years for almost no pay was awarded judgment of $70,960.57 in back wages and many hours he worked. In federal court, the $206,000 in compensatory overtime from his former employer, New factory owner tried to undermine Mr. damages and $20,000 in York jewelry company ACBL Corp. Yang’s testimony by producing falsified punitive damages by a jury. Yang, a Korean immigrant from timesheets, but the court found the owner’s She lived in the home of Argentina, worked for ACBL over a span of account “replete with contradictions.” her employers, a New Jersey seven years. The company required him to After a two-day trial, Federal District couple, and worked day and night taking care of the work more than 40 hours a week, and Judge Leonard B. Sand found that ACBL couple, their children, and typically more than 90 hours a week, seven violated federal and state labor laws and their home, cleaning, days a week, during the holidays. However, upheld Yang’s right to additional “spread of cooking, and maintaining the L hours” wages for his work over 10 hours lawn and pool. The couple Doo Nam Yang (left) at a Korean Workers Project press conference with AALDEF staff attorney Steve Choi (center) and YKASEC program associate a day. subjected her to continual Kathy Chae. (Photo by YKASEC) Said Yang, “ACBL and its owner never verbal abuse. Though they promised to pay her, the paid me a cent of overtime wages for all couple gave her only a few that work. They fought me every step of the thousand dollars after way, but I knew my rights and that we five years. would win in the end.” Seeking the fair labor AALDEF Skadden Fellow Steve Choi, value for her work, AALDEF who represented Yang, added, “The law is filed a quasi contract claim in 2003. AALDEF’s co-counsel on the side of the workers, and employers were ACLU, Paul, Weiss, who think they can exploit their workers Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison without legal consequence will end up LLP, Loeb & Loeb LLP, and being brought to justice.” local counsel Dwyer & Dunnigan LLC. TEENAGE LABOR TRAFFICKING SURVIVOR APPROVED FOR T V ISA “Sara,” a better life for herself. After an arduous labor trafficking journey from Fujian, her traffickers survivor from demanded that she pay tens of thousands of China, will be dollars more, held her in a basement for able to stay in weeks, beat her, and threatened physical the U.S., attend harm to her and her family if she failed to public school, be reunited with her family, pay off the debt. and receive work authorization after a T When she contacted AALDEF Equal Visa petition, filed on her behalf by Justice Works Fellow Ivy Suriyopas last fall, AALDEF, was approved in April. “Sara” was working in restaurants six days “Sara” was 14 when she was sent a week, 14 hours a day, wiring nearly all unaccompanied to the U.S. by her parents her wages to China every month. 2 in 2002, in hopes that she could make a Stand Up for Immigration Reform PUTTING HUMAN RIGHTS AND WORKERS ’ R IGHTS Voices from the Community FIRST IN THE IMMIGRATION DEBATE Continued from Page 1 among immigrant communities and ethnic press. "The upsurge in organizing among immigrant communities redefined the national debate, but it remains to be seen Mr. Waheed Saleh , 35, whether our elected officials will listen to was inexplicably detained our demands for just legalization policies," and put into deportation said Mark. proceedings in 2004 after a AALDEF attorneys also used the courts police officer threatened to to protect immigrants against workplace L AALDEF staff attorney Tushar Sheth, AALDEF legal intern Sujeet Rao, and retaliate against him if he did AALDEF staff attorney Khin Mai Aung join hundreds of marchers at a 1,000- not withdraw a harassment exploitation and to halt the rollback in strong feeder march from Chinatown to Union Square organized by the Chinese Staff and Workers’ Association and NMASS. (Photo by AALDEF) complaint he filed with the rights for immigrants and their families. In Civilian Complaint Review 2006, AALDEF brought cases on behalf of families. Currently, about 1 in 10 families Board. “Someone trying to dozens of Asian immigrant workers and with children in the U.S. comprise a seek fairness and justice their colleagues facing nonpayment of “mixed-status” family, in which one or more should not have a wages, forced labor trafficking, and other parents is a non-citizen and at least one government agency silence him from complaining abuses within the restaurant, construction, child is a citizen. against someone who has deli and nail salon industries—where labor Inhumane detention and deportation crossed the line,” said Mr. standards such as minimum wage and practices that would be expanded in the Saleh. overtime are least enforced (see sidebars, Senate bill led to tragedy in the case of pp. 2, 3). ZhenXing Jiang, 34, a Chinese immigrant AALDEF has also maintained that anti- residing in Philadelphia. When she immigrant “interior enforcement” measures appeared for a supervisory immigration in the bills would have disastrous effects on interview on February 7, federal all communities. In one instance, Waheed Immigration and Customs Enforcement Saleh, a Palestinian immigrant from the (ICE) officials noticed that she was Bronx, was reported to immigration pregnant and immediately forced her into a Ms. ZhenXing Jiang authorities by the New York Police car bound for JFK airport for her suffered a miscarriage while in Homeland Security Department and put into deportation deportation. ICE agents ignored Jiang's cries custody in February. Her proceedings after he filed a formal of pain, resulting in a miscarriage of her husband, Mr. Tianxiao complaint against a police officer who had unborn twins en route. Zhang , said, “Words cannot racially harassed him. In February, In addition to calling for an describe the sadness my wife AALDEF attorney Tushar Sheth filed a investigation into ICE’s practices, AALDEF and I feel.