The heart breaking story of the Choi family’s plight with the U.S. Immigration Service came to a head this summer. Under the threat of impending deportation order, the Korean American Community of Greater New York mobilized and displayed what it can do together.
KAAGNY’s Legal Advisory Committee Chair Kwang Soo Kim, Esq. was able to get the reprieve the Choi family so desperately needed. Thrown into the abyss by unscrupulous immigration lawyer who neglected his duties and left Choi family unprotected, their plight was compounded by family illness as well. Their sad story, once broken by Korean Daily News’s reporter Jung Un Lee, brought about the respond typical of a community that cares. Signature drives centered on Christian churches and Buddhist temples petitioning the INS took up its own grass root momentum.
KAAGNY also participated in several of these signature drives collecting thousands of signatures. We have a word in Korean called “Jung”. The true meaning of this word is the genuine outpouring of support we saw coming from our community for the Choi family. We want to thank all those who came out in support for this poor family, especially the Korean newspapers, television stations, and radio. Through this story, we have proven to ourselves what our community can do when we unite together. We wish Choi family well as they continue their struggle against their illness. United we stand, divided we fall. We are so happy to be able to report that all is well, that ends well.
