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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. […]
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Praise, outrage, tears over Alex Tizon’s ‘slave’ story
While the Pulitzer Award-winning journalist Alex Tizon’s essay “My Family’s Slave” has moved many Filipinos to tears, it has also sparked heated debate about attitudes toward having a housemaid in the family – still quite common in the Philippines. Does it constitute slavery if the family is harsh and exploitative, benevolence if the family is […]
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CA Chief Justice Tani Gorre Cantil-Sakauye denounces ‘stalking’ of immigrants, use of courthouses as ‘baits’
By Ludy Astraquillo Ongkeko, Ph.D. An open letter to Attorney General Jeff Sessions penned by the California Chief Justice Tani Gorre Cantil-Sakauye contained a passionate argument against immigration enforcement policies revolving around California courthouses. “I am deeply concerned about reports from some of our trial courts that immigration agents appear to be stalking undocumented immigrants […]