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‘I am prepared,’ declares Jose Antonio Vargas on end of DACA
By Cristina DC Pastor “Rest assured that whatever happens to me, I am prepared.” Define American founder and undocumented immigrant journalist Jose Antonio Vargas wrote this on his Facebook wall, a day after the Trump Administration announced it was ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). DACA is a program put in place by […]
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Brooklyn immigration lawyer among FYLPRO young leaders for 2017
The Philippine Embassy in Washington, D.C. has announced the 10 delegates to the Filipino-American Young Leaders Program (FYLPRO) 2017, including Brooklyn native Amanda Bernardo, Esq. They will be traveling in an immersion trip to the Philippines to meet with leaders of government, industry, business, culture, and social enterprise from October 8 to 14. An immigration […]
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A bill in Congress paved the way for my citizenship (Part 2)
By Metty Vargas Pellicer When America got involved in the Cuban Revolution against Spain, it got involved in the Philippines who was also waging a similar war of independence. Fighting a common enemy, the Philippine Revolution joined forces with America. It facilitated the surrender of Manila and the rest of the Philippines to end the […]
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Filipina doctor Metty Pellicer fearlessly finds herself in America (Part 1)
By Metty Vargas Pellicer In high school I was an interna at the Colegio de Santa Isabel. It was heretic for a colegiala, especially an interna, to study at the University of the Philippines. I thought, had my mother gone crazy? Unlike my mother, I did not have the audacity to see myself as a […]
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PACCAL founder Linda Mayo among AAPI community heroes
AARP is proud to announce the winners of its 2nd Asian American and Pacific Islander Community Hero Awards. Dilafroz Nargis Ahmed of India Home, Shongchai Hang of South East Asian Mutual Assistance Associations Coalition, and Linda Mayo of the Pan-American Concerned Citizens Action League are being acknowledged for their leadership of non-profit organizations serving AAPIs […]
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How spoiled Malibu became a Sanctuary City
By Ludy Astraquillo Ongkeko, Ph.D. The beach city of Malibu — where Tom Hanks, Cher and other Hollywood luminaries have homes — recently became a Sanctuary City. Malibu City Hall voted on March 14 to adopt the Sanctuary City status as a gesture of solidarity with undocumented immigrants, many of them Hispanics working in construction […]
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Jose Antonio Vargas mulled moving to Canada for good
By Cristina DC Pastor Define American founder Jose Antonio Vargas revealed he had entertained the idea of heading north to Canada and finally leaving the country that wants to deport him. Until Minority Leader of the House Nancy Pelosi called. “I entertained it for a week,” said immigrant rights activist Vargas, speaking before a June […]
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A deportation reality in ‘Transit’: Filipinos would rather fight it than go home
By Cristina DC Pastor I watched “Transit” a day after I listened to Jose Antonio Vargas speak before a Know-your-rights forum on immigration. I didn’t plan it that way; that’s just how my schedule turned out. But the sequence of my schedule provided a striking perspective to the 2013 film. In “Transit,” Hannah Espia’s debut […]
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Lawyer Nick Caraquel: How love and religion can sometimes win cases
By Cristina DC Pastor Early this year, he burst into the community in an intense, almost invasive way. An upstart lawyer who grew up dirt-poor in Davao selling banana cue to help his family. His story, shared more than 7,000 times, grabbed social media attention. He is now on radio, sharing immigration insights, dispensing advice. […]