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Dear President Bush: On this day when you officially celebrate the beginning of your second term as President of the United States of America, we at Young Koreans United (YKU) of USA and the Korean Alliance for Peace and Justice would like to take this time to remind you of certain issues of concern to the Korean American community and to the U.S. people at large. The Korean American community and the American people as a whole are watching with concern the political situation on the Korean peninsula, especially with regards to the relationships between your administration and both the Democratice People's Republic of Korea (DPRK, North Korea) and the Republic of Korea (ROK, South Korea); the DPRK's possible production of nuclear weapons; and your administration's nuclear umbrella policy and foreign policy that isolates and threatens the DPRK. This year marks the 55th anniversary of the start of the Korean War, which did not end in a peace treaty but only an armistice, making it possible for any kind of military conflict or strike to escalate to dangerous proportions. The Korean War was one of the bloodiest in modern times, with 1.4 million dead, 3 million casualties, 100,000 war orphans, as well as 54,000 U.S. dead and 100,000 U.S. wounded. It is estimated that a present military conflict on the Korean peninsula, one of the most militarized regions in the world, would endanger the lives of 70 million Koreans and 100,000 Americans living and working in the ROK. You have stated often that you and your administration are seeking a peaceful outcome to create a nuclear-free Korean peninsula. If you are serious about achieving this, we urge you to pro-actively negotiate with the DPRK to lead towards normalization of relations and cooperation; to remove the pre-emptive strike option from your administration's policy; to end the threats of military aggression; to respect and promote the growing cooperation between the DPRK and the ROK; and to continue humanitarian food and economic aid. Any other way would only antagonize the DPRK, hurting the North Korean people in the end, and endanger the whole Korean peninsula. As the DPRK is waiting to see what unfolds in your second term, please take the initiative and diplomatically engage with the DPRK government to truly help the North Korean people, to resolve the nuclear crisis, and to bring peace on the Korean peninsula. Along the same vein, we have similar concerns about the continued presence of U.S. and other troops (including South Korean troops) in Iraq. Your administration could create a new "Coalition of the Willing" in Iraq --- a coalition willing to promote peace, not war, by ceasing military operations (which some in your "Coalition" have already done so, we might add) and making a definite plan for the withdrawal of U.S. and other foreign troops, respecting the Iraqi people's right to self-determination, and acting in accordance with proper United Nations and international support. U.S. funds could be better spent in improving the situation at home, where we have problems in employment and the workplace, healthcare, and education, among others. Speaking of which, on the domestic front, there are many pressing issues important to the Korean American and the wider immigrant community. Our immigration system is broken. Many Latino and Asian Pacific American (APA) families are a mix of U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, and non-immigrants who live, work and study. In fact, it is estimated that there are roughly one million undocumented immigrants from Asia and specifically 180,000 from Korea. Hard-working, tax-paying APAs contribute to the economy and American society, yet live in fear and hiding with no hope of gaining a path to legal permanent resident status. And undocumented children grow up in the United States, excel in school, and are nonetheless denied the opportunity to go to college or work in the field of their study & choice because of their immigration status. At the same time, the immigration backlogs mean that APA U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents wait years, sometimes even decades, in order to reunite with their family in the United States. For example, it is now estimated that a U.S. citizen from the Philippines would have to wait 22 years to be reunified with her sister or brother. Undoubtedly the lengthy backlogs in family immigration and the lack of access to legal immigration status encourage illegal immigration. In other words, elimination of the backlogs must be done hand-in-hand with the provision of earned legalization. Moreover, since September 11th, immigrants continue to be racially profiled and many of our communities live in a state of fear and uncertainty. While we believe that national security is important, federal restrictions on drivers license or deputizing local law enforcement to act as immigration agents are not answers to stopping terrorism and securing our borders. There needs to be effective enforcement policies that address gaps in our security system and not the scapegoating immigrants as terrorists. Last year in January 2004, you announced an interest in introducing legislation to reform the nation's immigration laws. We hope that you will be able to deliver on this promise in 2005. Specifically, we look forward to the introduction of bipartisan legislation that will address the nation's concern for both national security and continuing our tradition of welcoming newcomers into this country. This means legislation that will provide undocumented immigrants (including students) a path to citizenship, elimination of the immigration backlogs, worker protection, and the restoration of civil liberties and due process. We at YKU of USA and at KAPJ hope that you will heed these concerns of the Korean American community and of the U.S. people at large, and that you act appropriately in your second Presidential term for peace, immigration reform, and civil rights and liberties as we have outlined in this letter. Thank you for your time and consideration. Sincerely,
Cliff Lee
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