Serve in Place: MinKwon Center for Community Action
By Katherine Kim ’25
Over winter break — with support from the Serve in Place Fund — I had the pleasure of volunteering with MinKwon Center for Community Action. MinKwon is a non-profit organization based in Flushing, Queens, that advocates for advocacy & community organizing, civic participation, social services, and youth organizing in NYC and other Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities. Legal services for documentation services are also provided without charge to the local community of Flushing. As an undergraduate student passionate about immigration law, this was an exciting opportunity for me to learn more about what the field entails.
Upon entering the office in late December 2022, the hot topic circulating MinKwon’s office was the overturning of “Local Law 11–2022,” a crucial law that gives lawful permanent residents of and persons authorized to work in the United States in New York City the ability to participate in municipal elections. Local Law 11 was enacted in January 2022 in NYC and gives over 800,000 new voters from immigrant communities the ability to participate in local elections. The law that offered voting rights to NYC’s non-citizen residents, was not slow to face opposition. Richmond County State Supreme Court Justice Ralph Porzio and Council member Vickie Paladino, who represents District 19 of Northeast Queens, played an especially important role in the opposition. Porzio stated that allowing municipal, non-citizen voters to take part in local elections would dilute the weight of the citizens’ votes, leading to a change in candidates’ campaigns. The likes of Porzio, Paladino, and other Republican representatives, believe that the voting rights of over 800,000 New Yorkers would come at the expense of citizen voters.
The opposition to Local Law 11 has led non-profit organizations, such as MinKwon, to take action in an attempt to save the hard fought law. When initially contacting MinKwon about volunteering, they told me they could use more people to help spread the news about the law itself and voter registration in their community.
My main goal during my time with MinKwon was initially to help out with their civic participation team, but soon fledged to other areas of the organization.
My main goal during my time with MinKwon was initially to help out with their civic participation team, but soon fledged to other areas of the organization. I began learning about laws, such as Local Law Eleven, that MinKwon was fighting hard to keep. Soon after, I was also given the opportunity to shadow the legal team, help collect material for civic participation related social media posts, and assist in creating an English learning program. All of these jobs were equally important to Minkwon, and it proved that many organizations such as Minkwon are not defined by a singular objective, but rather, a combination of many.
While shadowing the legal team, I was able to learn more about the citizenship and green card obtaining process, something that is incredibly important to immigrant communities and is no easy feat. As MinKwon is a non-profit organization, they do not get paid for their legal services. Thus, I was really able to grasp the large gap between the demand and supply for legal services for immigrants, making MinKwon’s work that much more important to communities such as Flushing. It was an eye opening experience to see people in my community who were first-hand struggling with issues with renewal of green cards and obtaining citizenship. Coming from an immigrant family myself, I was especially empathetic toward the people whose experiences could have so easily mirrored my own grandparents’ 35 years ago.
In addition to the documentation renewal process, I helped out in the civic participation team, handing out voting surveys and learning more about the voting process for Asian-American citizens. Asian Americans are a growing demographic in the United States and are increasingly becoming an influential voting bloc. However, like all voters, their voting patterns and priorities vary based on a range of factors, including their age, ethnicity, education level, income, and political affiliation.
The Serve in Place Fund has given me the opportunity to reach out to MinKwon and see the inequities and the fights that are on-going in my local community.
According to recent studies, Asian Americans tend to vote at lower rates compared to other racial and ethnic groups. However, this trend is changing, and Asian American voter turnout has been steadily increasing over the years. In the 2020 presidential election, Asian American voter turnout reached an all-time high, with an estimated 59% of eligible Asian American voters casting their ballots. In terms of political affiliations, Asian Americans do not overwhelmingly support one party over the other, and their political views are diverse. However, a recent article in the New York Times explains that Asian neighborhoods in New York City are increasingly shifting right.
Community organizations such as MinKwon are multi-faceted and are working incredibly hard every day to bring a voice to Asian-American communities and to create a more just environment for immigrants in New York City’s political scene. The political state of communities, such as Flushing, NY, are positively impacted by organizations such as MinKwon who are trying to get people out and voting. There is still much more work to be done, and it may never end. However, I am positive that organizations such as MinKwon will never quit fighting.
The Serve in Place Fund has given me the opportunity to reach out to MinKwon and see the inequities and the fights that are on-going in my local community. The opportunity I had influences how I choose to stay informed about the ongoing projects in my community, even when I am back at Cornell continuing my studies.
Katherine Kim ’25 is an Engaged Ambassador in the David M. Einhorn Center for Community Engagement.
