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FILAMSPEAK: The proposed ‘speaking section’ of the naturalization test: Will it hurt immigrants?
By Cristina DC Pastor Aida Demetrio clutches the small card while waiting to clear immigration at Newark airport. She waives at her husband standing outside. She has been a permanent resident for a decade and a half. She flies back and forth regularly between Manila and New Jersey and is perfectly content just having a […]
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1st Filipino to pass the PA Bar Exam without studying law in the U.S.
By Loida Nicolas Lewis Before 1973, U.S. citizenship was a requirement to take the bar examinations to practice law. However, in 1973, the US Supreme Court in the case of In re Griffiths ruled that American citizenship should not be required to take the bar examination to be admitted into the practice of law. Jaime […]
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Guest Editorial: Cannabis justice for all
By Mayor Eric Adams Legalizing cannabis was a major step forward for equity and justice in our city. But legalization is about following the new laws, not a free pass to sell unregulated cannabis products. Over the last few months, illegal cannabis retailers have taken advantage of decriminalization efforts, with unlicensed smoke shops popping up […]
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Loida Nicolas Lewis’s memoir of love, marriage, and race
By Allen Gaborro In 1967 a US Supreme Court ruling led to the legalization of interracial marriages. One such interracial marriage would be the union two years later of American lawyer Reginald F. Lewis and Sorsogon-born Loida Mañalac Nicolas. It would be the beginning of a beautiful and productive relationship that ended with the untimely […]
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‘We met for lunch; I ate, Imee didn’t’ (Part 2)
By Marissa Bañez, Esq. When the date arrived, I was equally nervous and excited. I don’t remember the date, but it was a nice day, which leads me to think that it must’ve been sometime in the spring of 1979. Even in retrospect to this day, I can’t believe that I of the unknown Bañezes […]
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Imee and me at Princeton University (Part 1)
By Marissa Bañez, Esq. Imee Marcos attended Princeton University. I know. I saw her there. I met her. I even had lunch with her (and her bodyguards). She spoke to me in a Filipino-accented English with a British inflection. Some years ago, there was a huge brouhaha about whether Ms. Marcos attended Princeton University. I […]
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Lawyer Licelle Cobrador is Maryknoll’s youngest Amazing Alumni Achiever
Immigration and human rights lawyer Licelle Cobrador has been named one of 10 Maryknoll/Miriam Amazing Alumni Achievers for 2022, the youngest-ever awardee in the Triple A’s 21-year history. The Triple A Award created in 2001 honors alumni who have made “perceptible impact on the lives of people despite obstacles and adversity,” according to the school’s […]
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Lawyer Marissa Bañez’s Second Act: Writing for children
Life, they say, begins at 40. Add 25 more years and for lawyer Marissa Bañez, her life as a children’s book author has only just begun. A litigator with almost 40 years’ experience, Marissa has written a children’s book “Hope and Fortune,” which will be issued by her Black Rose Writing publisher on February 2, […]
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Judge Benes Z. Aldana: 1st FilAm CEO of the National Judicial College
By Loida Nicolas Lewis During the Asian American Pacific Islander Victory Fund in Washington, D.C. last spring, I was delighted to meet the president and CEO of The National Judicial College, Hon. Benes Zapanta Aldana (Ret.). Benes is the first Asian Pacific American (Filipino), and second person of color, to lead the College, and before […]