The Real Story of Immigration

Let’s imagine you are the only child, living with your parents in a small apartment in a small city. Your parents are from South Korea, but you’re born in the United States. You feel that Korea is a strong part of your cultural foundation and heritage, but you consider the United States your home. Life is normal with the routine of school, play, and family. Then, all of a sudden, your life turns completely upside down.
My parents came to the United States as a young married couple in 1984 to Toledo, Ohio, so they could have a better chance to succeed in all aspects of life. My father attended the University of Toledo. I was born in June 1990. My father graduated from with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. Afterwards our family made a visit to South Korea for about 7 months. When my family came back to the United States, my father wanted to study English at a language school in Michigan; however he was redirected back to the University of Toledo for a major in Business Administration. The paperwork was incorrectly filed and my parents received inaccurate legal advice. In 1999 my father received a form from the government to work in the United States. As a result, he figured that now his immigration status was okay. But in reality my dad’s immigration status, as well as my mom’s, became undocumented
Meanwhile, I was growing up and attending school. I never knew or even realized that my parents had issues with their immigration status in the first place. It just never came to my mind, and I never remember asking about it. That all changed on February 14, 2005 (Valentine’s Day) as my mom was picked up from our home by ICE (Immigrations and Customs Enforcement) and Toledo Police officers. My mom was held in several different jails all across Michigan. Her health, mentally and physically, started to deteriorate. My dad and I were hurt so much since we could do absolutely nothing to help her. After 6 long months in which it seemed like there was no end in sight. My mom was never granted the right to have a court hearing or placed on bond. My father decided that it was time to go back to South Korea. It was the only way that my mom could get out of jail. On August 11, 2005, my parents voluntarily deported themselves. I stayed behind in the United States because it was the only home I’d ever known, and my parents knew that it would be an immense challenge for me to live in South Korea. I would not be able to survive the rigorous educational system in South Korea as I never really used Korean. At the Detroit Metro Airport, my parents were saying hello to a nation that they had not lived in for 20 years. I stayed behind saying hello to an entire new life without my parents.
I’ve gone on legislative visits, rallies, and written to elected officials for my parents to come back to the United States faster than their ten year bar created by the 1996 immigration laws. Then I did something else that was different from anything else I have done concerning immigration and my parents. Recently I went on a tour called Dreams Across America. The Dreams Across America Tour was a journey where a cross section of 105 American immigrants came together from ten different cities all across the United States and rode on trains to Washington D.C. Each one of those 105 immigrants were messengers who shared personal stories to communicate the need to change our current immigration laws. We met in Washington D.C. to let the public and our elected officials know what our current immigration laws do to families, and how it hurts all Americans-U.S. born, like me, as well as immigrants.
My dream was to bring my parents back to the United States, but I also realized that it can’t be just about my family in this immigration struggle. The Dreams Across America Tour opened my eyes to others people’s immigration struggles, and made me realize that I am not the only person struggling because of current immigration laws. One person I met was Hang Youk, a Korean who came from Houston, Texas. Hang’s family was being sponsored for green cards through his father. On June 2, 2000, Hang’s father was gunned down in a convenience store, and immediately following, Hang’s family received a notification from the INS (Immigration and Naturalization Services) that their request for permanent residency had been denied due to their father’s death. Hang still attends university, but his family’s immigration status is undocumented. Now Hang was on the Dreams Across America Tour to keep the hope alive that his family would not face deportation or discrimination and to tell the true human side of immigration. His story reminded me that our immigration system in place is unjust and needs to be changed. Dreams Across America made me realize that we all need to do our part to continue working together as a whole toward comprehensive immigration reform. It also helped strengthen my ideals to continue fighting for my parents, but also for other immigrants as well.
Our current immigration laws affect all Americans. I am a U.S. born citizen, but I am separated from my family. I am currently doing an internship for NAKASEC (National Korean American Services and Education Consortium) to learn more about immigration reform. After a month here, I will head off to South Korea for one year to be with my family and make up for lost time that we couldn’t spend with each other. I am also leaving behind the friends, school, and life I always knew back in Toledo, Ohio, THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. I hope that I can still do my part to help push for immigration reform and for me to return to America after that one year in Korea, with my parents by my side.