By Sue Misao
Northwest Asian Weekly

Waiter Steve Miller takes empty lunch orders from diners (L–R) Jordan Wasserman, Tahmina Watson, Mary de Rosas, and Tom Youngjohn at a protest for immigration reform in Seattle. (Photo by Sue Misao/NWAW)
Local attorneys and other legal professionals sat down for an empty lunch at tables set up in front of the Federal building in Seattle on Dec. 10. The staged protest was an effort to join fasters in a “symbolic protest of Congress’ empty promises to fix our broken immigration system.”
Steve Miller, an attorney with Cowan, Miller & Lederman, offered the day’s lunch specials: “Undue delay, wasted time, and empty potential.”
About two dozen members of the Washington Chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association staged the “empty-plate” demonstration in conjunction with the peace and justice group, OneAmerica.
“As lawyers, we know exactly how much time has been wasted by our representatives, unduly, simply for political positioning,” said Tom Young john, an attorney with All American Immigration.
“We see families torn apart every day by the immigration laws,” added Jordan Wasserman, an attorney with Northwest Immigration Rights Project.
“We are on the ground seeing people who need help,” said Tahmina Watson of Watson Immigration Law. “Without reform, we can’t help them.”
A same-day action was held in Bellingham. (end)