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Immigrants, advocates ‘sad, disappointed’ over judge’s delay of Obama immigration relief
Dozens of New York immigrants, elected officials, advocates, faith and labor organizations gathered on February 18 in a show of unity against the Federal Judge Andrew Hanen’s decision to temporarily delay immigration relief. The first part of President Obama’s executive action – an expansion of the current Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program was […]
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What Obama started, Congress must finish, urge immigration advocates
By Maricar CP Hampton While President Barack Obama’s executive action on immigration was well received by the Filipino community, many of its leaders continue to urge Congress to pass a law that would provide a more permanent solution to the broken immigration system. “This is undoubtedly big news for our community,” said Romeo Ymalay, Co-Chair […]
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Ferguson: A need for empathy
By Maria Cruz Lee Thousands of people are reacting this morning (of November 25) to the fact that the grand jury in Ferguson, MO chose not to indict Officer Darren Wilson for his actions in the shooting death of unarmed teenager, Michael Brown. I watched the press conference last night and was actively participating in […]
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As legalization looms, Jose Antonio Vargas says, ‘I can now go back and see my mother’
By Cristina DC Pastor One of the much anticipated initiatives in President Obama’s planned executive action was the expansion of DACA or the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. On November 20, Obama made it official: He unveiled a plan to expand the coverage of DACA and offer relief as well to undocumented parents of citizens […]
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Go Big: An open letter to President Obama
Dear President Barack Obama, You have one final opportunity to significantly improve the lives of millions of undocumented immigrants living inside the United States, who contribute positively to the social tapestry and recovering economy of our country. These people long for the respect and acceptance from the country they call home. They consider themselves American […]
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Nov. 6-13 Other Israel film festival to feature immigration film ‘Transit’
“Transit” by Hannah Espia is among the films to be featured in the 8th Annual Other Israel Film Festival in New York City. Espia’s debut film is the story of a Filipino caregiver in Israel determined to hide his children from immigration police to prevent their deportation. In 2009, Israel sought to expel several hundreds […]
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Where to find the 7.1% FilAms living in poverty? Not at a ballroom gala!
By Bella Santos Owens Recently, the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders released key facts and figures on Filipinos living within the U.S. With a total U.S. Filipino population of 2.66 million, the amount of Filipinos living in poverty comes to 7.1 percent. According to the United States Census Bureau, poverty in […]
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Dual citizenship applicants will have a mass oath-taking on Oct. 8
“To me, the issue is not about choosing one country over another or having a piece of paper defining who I am. It is about (not) taking our opportunities for granted.” With that, Rachelle Ocampo, project director at NYU Langone Medical Center, took the plunge, applied for dual citizenship and is now the holder of […]
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Municipal IDs seen to benefit all New Yorkers not just undocumented immigrants
By Cristina Dc Pastor Certain things will change when one enters a New York City building beginning 2015. Instead of showing the building security a driver’s license or a passport, a New York resident can show a municipal identity card. The ID card will be available in January to all New York residents not limited […]