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Rise in deportations as lawyers deplore Trump’s ‘zero-tolerance policy’
By Cristina DC Pastor If you’re an undocumented TNT, chances are people in the community know about it. TNT means “tago ng tago,” the Filipino term for illegal immigrants who are always hiding. Thanks to the corrosive power of ‘chismis’ (gossip), your legal status is likely to pass whisper to whisper by people you know […]
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A visit with a Filipino detained by ICE
By Mariel Padilla In the waiting room, a handful of people wait for the security guard to call their names. An elderly man with a black hat and wooden cane taps his foot. A young woman rocks a baby. Melanie Dulfo enters the detention center, walks past the seated people and tells the security guard […]
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FALDEF official is among outstanding alumni at Cardozo Law
A first-generation New York lawyer, Marie Licelle Razalo Cobrador was recently featured in the Cardozo Journal of Outstanding Alumni. She received her LL.M. from Cardozo School of Law and is now the Founding Attorney of Cobrador & Associates, PLLC. She handles immigration, business transactions, real estate, litigation, intellectual property and entertainment law. As part of […]
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Where are the feel-good migration stories?
By Jeremaiah M. Opiniano Remittances have been the reason for overseas Filipinos’ symbolic tag as heroes since a formal labor export program began in 1974. From the 1970s to the mid-2000s, remittances have helped shore up the homeland economy’s fiscal issues, mitigated the impacts of domestic unemployment, and somewhat help buoy the Philippines’ gross national […]
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Businesswoman Rena Avendula charged with 5 counts visa fraud
By Cristina DC Pastor The United States has filed five counts of visa fraud against businesswoman Rena Beduya Avendula, 50, for allegedly creating “fake job positions” using the H-1B work visa program. Avendula is the owner and managing executive of Professional Placement & Recruitment, Incorporated (PPRI), with offices in Woodside, Queens. PRRI was described in […]
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Save the ethnic media: Immigration, digitalization seen as challenges
By Cristina DC Pastor Community journalists and advertising agencies gathered in New York’s Chinatown district to examine challenges and trends and how they can work to make media organizations more sustainable. The roundtable, held at the Museum of Chinese in America, was organized by the Asian American Advertising Federation (3AF), a national trade organization comprising […]
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NYC nannies, caregivers are mostly women of color; number of Asians growing
“Lifting up Paid Care Work: Year One of New York City’s Paid Care Division” was issued this month by the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs. The report examines the conditions of the city’s more than 202,000 domestic workers — home care aides, house cleaners, and nannies – also known as ‘paid care workers.’ […]
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Licelle Cobrador opts for law practice in NYC over raucous Philippine politics
By Cristina DC Pastor In 2009, Licelle Cobrador found herself at a crossroads: Should she return to New York to pursue a legal career or should she stay in the Philippines to become mayor of Dao, Capiz and challenge the entrenched dynasty? Nine years seemed so far removed, but Licelle likes to look back at […]
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NYC is nearly 40% foreign-born highest in over a century: MOIA report
NYC’s Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs (MOIA) issued its first-ever annual report, and states that for the first time in over a century “nearly 40 percent of our residents are foreign born.” “New York City is proud to be the ultimate city of immigrants,” said Acting Commissioner Bitta Mostofi in the 37-page report. The report […]