Pastors and other experts gathered in Washington to launch the "Fast for Families Across America" movement to spark change in America's immigration system. The participants that showed up at the press conference on January 27th included Reverend John McCullough (Church World Service), Daejoong Yoon (NAKASEC), and Michael Byun (Asian Services in Action). Together they urged the community to fast, take action and pray for change to the system.
Pastor Yoon, one of the most active fasters in the movement took the floor and stated to listeners, "The time for immigration reform is now. We have heard the word "wait' in the past. Dr. King heard it. Chavez heard it. Gandhi heard it. Our communities of immigrants continue to hear it"¦we will be in districts across the country to increase awareness of the human cost of our broken system and raise the level of urgency for reform."
Aside from the urgency of the situation, the desires of immigrant families throughout America were addressed by the participating fasters. Michael Byun from Asian Services in Action, had this to say: "The desires for Asian American and all immigrant families to reunite or not to be torn apart should rise above political wrangling. It's what makes us human."
