A Korean American group in Los Angeles and volunteer developers created a multi-lingual smartphone app called “Know your Rights” for immigrants who are concerned with deportation. It is the latest program designed for unauthorized immigrants, reported KPCC.
The app explains to immigrants their basic legal rights in five languages: Korean, Chinese, Portuguese, Spanish and English. Immigrants can check the app to assert their rights when they are detained by immigration agents.
The app’s developers said it is the first to include Asians among its target users. The Korean Resource Center, a community service nonprofit in Koreatown, even recruited volunteers to help develop the app.
Jungwoo Kim, a KRC organizer, said he conceived of the app after distributing know-your-rights cards to Korean immigrants. According to the KRC, one in seven Korean immigrants is not authorized to stay in the U.S. But this is a sensitive issue and many are reluctant to come forward to discuss their situation, Kim said.
“It’s very hard for us to even talk to community leaders about this matter because it is very confidential,” Kim said. “Most of the people, even if they need know-your-rights training, they don’t show up, because they don’t want to take that risk.”
Jungwoo Kim also said he hopes even those who are afraid to go public with their lack of legal residency will find the app helpful.
Zu Kim, a web developer and a board member of the local Korean American Center, stepped up when he was approached to help build the app. After he informed his colleagues of the app development situation, he got 20 to 30 volunteers within a few days, Zu Kim said. They developed the app for free.
The app currently includes five languages. As more volunteer translators come on board, the app will be expanded to other languages.
Yongho Kim, digital director for the Korean Resource Center, said as rumors about recent immigration enforcement that have led to hundreds of arrests circulates, local Koreans grew worried about whether they would be deported.
“Permanent residents are uneasy about their green card status: is this safe, or do I need to become a citizen?” He said. “And people who are in all kinds of status in between, in the process of applying for something … they are being way more worried and cautious.”
The app is available on Google Play.
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